The Little Minister


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.5 stars; 13 reviews)

Before "Peter Pan" came "The Little Minister", J.M. Barrie's first published novel. This is not a children's book, but reflections on life in a remote village in Scotland. The story opens with the minister and his mother moving into the village of Thrums, where the minister must earn the respect of the villagers, threading his way through class differences, politics and suspicion of the travelling gypsies. But what would happen if the newly respectable minister of Thrums fell in love with a gypsy woman? And how will her secret impact upon them all? (Summary by Beth Thomas) (11 hr 11 min)

Chapters

JM Barrie, a Literary and Biographical Portrait 45:14 Read by MaryAnn
The Love Light 9:43 Read by Sylviamb
Runs Alongside the Making of a Minister 20:10 Read by TriciaG
The Night Watchers 22:54 Read by Sylviamb
First Coming of the Egyptian Woman 22:22 Read by Sylviamb
A Warlike Chapter, Culminating in the Flouting of the Minister by the Woman 13:40 Read by Sylviamb
In which the Soldiers Meet the Amazons of Thrums 19:05 Read by Sylviamb
Has the Folly of Looking Into a Woman's Eyes 11:33 Read by Sylviamb
3am - Monstrous Audacity of the Woman 17:33 Read by Sylviamb
The Woman Considered in Absence - The Adventures of a Military Cloak 17:44 Read by Sylviamb
First Sermon Against Women 19:30 Read by Sylviamb
Tells in a Whisper of Man's Fall during the Curling Season 16:08 Read by Sylviamb
Tragedy of a Mud House 9:53 Read by Nathan C Jones
Second Coming of the Egyptian Woman 13:31 Read by Sylviamb
The Minister Dances to the Woman's Piping 15:18 Read by Sylviamb
The Minister Bewitched - Second Sermon Against Women 13:42 Read by Sylviamb
Continued Misbehaviour of the Egyptian Woman 12:14 Read by Sylviamb
Intrusion of the Haggart into these Pages Against the Author's Wish 16:49 Read by Sylviamb
Caddam - Love Leading to a Rupture 12:38 Read by Sylviamb
Circumstances Leading to the First Sermon in Approval of Women 12:01 Read by Sylviamb
End of the State of Indecision 14:27 Read by Sylviamb
Night, Margaret, Flashing of a Lantern 16:09 Read by Sylviamb
Lovers 13:56 Read by Sylviamb
Contains a Birth, Which is Sufficient for One Chapter 9:53 Read by Sylviamb
The New World, and the Women who may not Dwell therein 9:27 Read by Kalynda
Beginning of the Twenty-Four Hours 13:47 Read by Sylviamb
Scene at the Spittal 12:47 Read by Sylviamb
First Journey of the Dominie to the Thrums during the 24 Hours 7:59 Read by Sylviamb
The Hill Before Darkness Fell 11:32 Read by Sylviamb
Story of the Egyptian 13:43 Read by Sylviamb
The Meeting for Rain 11:57 Read by Sylviamb
Various Bodies Converging on the Hill 15:04 Read by Sylviamb
Leading Swiftly to the Appalling Marriage 9:40 Read by Kalynda
While the Ten O'Clock Bell was Ringing 9:57 Read by Sylviamb
The Great Rain 6:53 Read by Sylviamb
The Glen at Break of Day 23:08 Read by Sylviamb
Story of the Dominie 15:31 Read by Sylviamb
Second Journey of the Dominie to the Thrums during the 24 Hours 12:41 Read by Sylviamb
Thrums During the 24 Hours - Defence of the Manse 14:34 Read by Sylviamb
How Babbie Spent the Night of August Fourth 10:51 Read by Sylviamb
Babbie and Margaret - Defence of the Manse continued 10:22 Read by Sylviamb
Rintoul and Babbie - Breakdown of the Defence of the Manse 12:28 Read by Sylviamb
Margaret, the Precentor and God between 14:08 Read by Sylviamb
Rain, Mist, The Jaws 15:38 Read by Sylviamb
End of the Twenty-Four Hours 11:27 Read by Sylviamb
Talk of a Little Maid since Grown Tall 12:00 Read by Sylviamb

Reviews

As Enchanting as Peter Pan


(5 stars)

In a better time this book was wildly popular. Difficult for American readers because of the Scottish dialect, it’s not only explicated here by the chief performer, but Silvia MB summons the spirit of Maude Adams, a legendary star of the stage production (who left a radio performance in her old age which is worth hunting for on the web). Thanks so much.

A Great Story


(5 stars)

Sylviamb is a great reader who imitates the Scottish tongue very well!