The Merry Wives of Windsor

By: William Shakespeare

Narrated by: Anthony Quayle, Joyce Redman, full cast

Sir John Falstaff, the lovable rogue, is brought back from his death in Henry V to set this farce in motion. Falstaff (Anthony Quayle), finding himself in need of funds, attempts to seduce 2 wealthy young ladies, Mistress Ford (Joyce Redman) and Mistress Page (June Jago). Alas, the scoundrel's money-making scheme goes awry when he sends the ladies - who are friends - identical love letters. The 2 women retaliate by plotting his downfall - with hilarious results.(P) and ©1966, 1995 HarperCollins Publishers, Inc., All Rights Reserved, Caedmon, An Imprint of Harper Audio, A Division of HarperCollins Publishers

Indifferent Transfer of a Classic Recording

Would you consider the audio edition of The Merry Wives of Windsor to be better than the print version?

This Caedmon recording from 1966 is outstanding in every respect. In addition to the wonderful cast, the production is first rate. It should be pointed out, however, that the transfer available on Audible is inferior to the original LP in a few respects. Whereas the original vinyl was in stereo (which made it easy to distinguish the dialogue of characters speaking simultaneously), the transfer here is in mono, thus obviating many of the production effects intended for stereo listening. Many of the musical cues present on the original record are either trimmed or removed outright. Still, the transfer has far greater clarity than the old vinyl copy that I have previously heard, which in the case of Shakespeare is certainly preferable.