The plot involves newlyweds in a castle in County Kerry, a pair of ghosts who were wrongly hanged there by Lord Shaftoe’s ancestors, and a lesbian pig with opinions. Also, a lot of people with delicious Irish accents, including a sort of witch and her small son, both of whom can read the hidden past and future, plus a gunpowder plot. Narrator Chris Patton has some nonstandard pronunciation issues—“ANDeeRONs” for “andirons” is one example. Evil Lord Shaftoe he pronounces “ShafTOE.” Didn’t the nursery rhyme’s meter make it “Pretty Bobby SHAFtoe”? But Patton’s high-energy enthusiasm and unflagging engagement with this charming and goofy book are so winning that his lapses aren’t hard to overlook. This is the second book of a trilogy, and very good fun. B.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine

The plot involves newlyweds in a castle in County Kerry, a pair of ghosts who were wrongly hanged there by Lord Shaftoe’s ancestors, and a lesbian pig with opinions. Also, a lot of people with delicious Irish accents, including a sort of witch and her small son, both of whom can read the hidden past and future, plus a gunpowder plot. Narrator Chris Patton has some nonstandard pronunciation issues—“ANDeeRONs” for “andirons” is one example. Evil Lord Shaftoe he pronounces “ShafTOE.” Didn’t the nursery rhyme’s meter make it “Pretty Bobby SHAFtoe”? But Patton’s high-energy enthusiasm and unflagging engagement with this charming and goofy book are so winning that his lapses aren’t hard to overlook. This is the second book of a trilogy, and very good fun. B.G. © AudioFile 2011, Portland, Maine