Dred, A Tale of the Great Dismal Swamp


Read by LibriVox Volunteers

(4.5 stars; 14 reviews)

This is Stowe's second book, another one depicting the horrors of southern slavery, published 4 years after Uncle Tom's Cabin and 5 years before the commencement of the Civil War, when new territories wanting admittance into the US (Texas, Oklahoma, name the states), were vying to become slave states, threatening to spread the heinous system. While a work of fiction, the book successfully documents the horrors of the slave system, and depicts how some slaves escaped into the Dismal Swamp (a real place spreading over a million acres in southeastern Virginia and northeastern North Carolina), where they often lived for years hiding from their pursuers, often in community. Dred, one of Stowe's most unusual heroic characters, proclaims his mission as follows: ". . .the burden of the Lord is upon me . . . to show unto this people their iniquity, and be a sign unto this evil nation!'" The book depicts that slaves were not all passive victims, as so often portrayed, and had many white sympathizers, but all were caught in the grips of a legal system so stacked against them that nobody could overturn it without threats to life and limb. The book was welcomed by the anti-slavery movement in Europe as well as in America, and helped move the needle of sympathy to finally overthrowing the system. - Summary by Michele Fry (25 hr 41 min)

Chapters

00. Preface 5:29 Read by Michele Fry
01. The Mistress of Canema 21:44 Read by Michele Fry
02. Clayton 28:35 Read by William Allan Jones
03. The Clayton Family and Sister Anne 25:02 Read by William Allan Jones
04. The Gordon Family 46:34 Read by Michele Fry
05. Harry and his Wife 39:00 Read by William Allan Jones
06. The Dilemma 25:22 Read by Michele Fry
07. Consultation 10:02 Read by Michele Fry
08. Old Tiff 51:16 Read by William Allan Jones
09. The Death 11:29 Read by Michele Fry
10. The Preparation 24:09 Read by Michele Fry
11. The Lovers 28:30 Read by Michele Fry
12. Explanations 36:59 Read by Michele Fry
13. Tom Gordon 40:19 Read by Michele Fry
14. Aunt Nesbit's Loss 22:00 Read by Michele Fry
15. Mr. Jekyl's Opinions 14:19 Read by Michele Fry
16. Milly's Story 40:30 Read by Michele Fry
17. Uncle John 29:19 Read by Greg Giordano
18. Dred 19:43 Read by William Allan Jones
19. The Conspirators 27:02 Read by Larry Wilson
20. Summer Talk at Canema 25:57 Read by Michele Fry
21. Tiff's Preparations 19:11 Read by William Allan Jones
22. The Worshippers 35:59 Read by William Allan Jones
23a. The Camp Meeting 35:34 Read by Michele Fry
23b. The Camp Meeting 42:49 Read by Michele Fry
24. Life in the Swamps 20:51 Read by William Allan Jones
25. More Summer Talk 33:07 Read by Michele Fry
26. Milly's Return 12:35 Read by Michele Fry
27. The Trial 19:25 Read by William Allan Jones
28. Magnolia Grove 36:27 Read by Michele Fry
29. The Troubadour 26:26 Read by Michele Fry
30. Tiff's Garden 20:46 Read by Michele Fry
31. The Warning 12:36 Read by John
32. The Morning Star 14:18 Read by Michele Fry
33. The Legal Decision 28:54 Read by William Allan Jones
34. The Cloud Bursts 25:43 Read by Michele Fry
35. The Voice in the Wilderness 12:01 Read by John
36. The Evening Star 17:19 Read by Michele Fry
37. The Tie Breaks 17:33 Read by Kathleen Moore
38. The Purpose 18:26 Read by Kathleen Moore
39. The New Mother 15:25 Read by Kathleen Moore
40. The Flight into Egypt 30:28 Read by Kathleen Moore
41. The Clerical Conference 30:07 Read by Larry Wilson
42. The Result 24:18 Read by William Allan Jones
43. The Slave's Argument 28:01 Read by William Allan Jones
44. The Desert 23:12 Read by William Allan Jones
45. Jegar Sahadutha 30:56 Read by William Allan Jones
46. Frank Russel's Opinions 23:22 Read by William Allan Jones
47. Tom Gordon's Plans 13:50 Read by John
48. Lynch Law 29:22 Read by KevinS
49. More Violence 13:57 Read by KevinS
50. Engedi 22:31 Read by Greg Giordano
51. The Slave Hunt 13:29 Read by William Allan Jones
52. ''All Over'' 17:38 Read by William Allan Jones
53. The Burial 12:50 Read by John
54. The Escape 19:44 Read by Pete McElveen
55. Lynch Law Again 28:50 Read by Pete McElveen
56. Flight 14:18 Read by Pete McElveen
57. Clear Shining after Rain 10:04 Read by KevinS
APPENDIX I 29:00 Read by KevinS
APPENDIX II 33:26 Read by KevinS
APPENDIX III 48:33 Read by William Allan Jones

Reviews


(5 stars)

well read....found it more meaningful and clear than Uncle Tom's Cabin. Should be a movie.

Magnificent in scope, horrible in fact, beauty amidst pathos.


(5 stars)

A very worthwhile listen, and for a group project, all the readers brought authenticity to their roles. Dred especially outdid himself. Nina gave it her all, especially considering her transformation from flibbertygibit girl to mature leader. All was handled with believable seriousness by Stowe, largely resting her fiction on facts.