An Heirloom Audio Production of St. Bartholomew’s Eve – Review

We love listening to stories as a family, and so we were excited to receive Heirloom Audio Productions’ newest product for review:  St. Bartholomew’s Eve.

It’s about a time in history about which we were all completely clueless:  the persecution of the Huguenots in France in 1567.  I knew that the Catholic and Protestant churches did not always coexist peacefully, specifically in Ireland and England, but I didn’t realize that there were full-blown wars over the division, or that it was a major issue in other parts of Europe.  Turns out that the events described in this episode were part of a whole series of wars between the Catholics and the Protestants, or Huguenots, in France!

My Little Man was excited that there are some big-name voice actors in this episode – in all of the Heirloom Audio productions, really.  Brian Blessed’s name caught his eye because he’s connected with Star Wars, and My Little Man is a big fan!

This may make you think, well, duh! but the best thing about St. Bartholomew’s Eve is the sound.  It just sounds amazing!  From the fancy stuff like the sound effects to the simpler stuff like accents, Heirloom Audio pays attention to every single detail of the way that this production sounds.  My Little Man said that it was like listening to a movie, and he’s spot on.  It’s nothing like listening to an audio book, in which there’s usually one or two voice actors who read the story that someone wrote.  Instead, this has a full cast of characters, sound effects, music, and more.  It’s very detailed and incredibly well done.

Those additional sounds really bring the story to life.  The volume of certain sounds change based on distance from which it’s supposedly coming.  Music plays.  Sound effects add to the drama, making you feel as if you were there.  It all works with the words and the accents to paint pictures in your mind.

I’m one of those readers for whom a well-written story can feel incredibly real.  You know the kind – who can exist in book limbo for a while after finishing an especially good one – and this is one such story.  You’ll find yourself turning the characters and the events over and over in your mind.  You won’t quite be ready to leave them after the last sound has left the speakers.

Because we knew nothing about the French Wars of Religion, St. Bartholomew’s Eve made for a really fun introduction.  While the events of the story aren’t fun, exactly (it is war), we listened to this episode on the way to and from Patrick Henry’s Red Hill to volunteer, and it made our long commute more enjoyable.  I love being able to listen to things in the car with the kids and then to talk about what we’re hearing and thinking.

It was also rather confusing.  Because we didn’t know who the Huguenots were – other than that they were French – it took some time to sort out who was who and what was happening.  I’d recommend finding out the very basics about the Second French War before listening.  (Which I did, prior to signing up for the review, but then there was a time lapse, and I forgot.  We didn’t mind, though, because 1.  Heirloom Audio = great stories, and 2. stories are fun, anyway.)

I was happily surprised by the very end of the episode.  It was framed as a man telling the story of this war to two kids who were playing hooky from church, and at the end the kids quickly picked up on the moral of the story:  appreciate your ability to worship in the way that you choose.  I thought that was really cool, but then the storyteller took it a step further and asked the boys to guard against anything that might infringe on his freedom lest it be taken away (or seriously challenged) again.

It wasn’t set up in a super political way, and there’s nothing political or pushy about it, which I appreciate.  I do think that this is something that we should both appreciate and protect, however, and I like the kid-friendly way that it was phrased.  I wasn’t expecting that to come from this lesson at all, but it was very fitting.

I’m liking Heirloom Audio dramas more and more with each one we hear!  Are you an Heirloom Audio fan?  Which one is your favorite?

Do you want to know more?  Click here for my review of Wulf the Saxon!