Roughing It in the Bush
Susanna Moodie
Read by Moira Fogarty
'Roughing It In the Bush' is Susanna Moodie's account of how she coped with the harshness of life in the woods of Upper Canada, as an Englishwoman homesteading abroad. Her narrative was constructed partly as a response to the glowing falsehoods European land-agents were circulating about life in the New World. Her chronicle is frank and humorous, and was a popular sensation at the time of its publication in 1852. (Summary by Moira Fogarty) (18 hr 48 min)
Chapters
Introduction to the Third Edition | 15:35 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
A Visit to Grosse Isle | 26:35 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Quebec | 31:38 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Our Journey up the Country | 27:56 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Tom Wilson's Emigration | 51:19 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Our First Settlement, and the Borrowing System | 52:08 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Old Satan and Tom Wilson's Nose | 22:54 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Uncle Joe and His Family | 41:26 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
John Monaghan | 30:09 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Phoebe R---, and Our Second Moving | 24:56 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Brian, the Still-Hunter | 41:55 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Charivari | 52:35 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Village Hotel | 30:52 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Land-Jobber | 59:59 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
A Journey to the Woods | 31:16 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Wilderness and Our Indian Friends (Part One) | 36:34 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Wilderness and Our Indian Friends (Part Two) | 31:51 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Burning the Fallow | 16:11 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Our Logging-Bee | 28:06 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
A Trip to Stony Lake | 31:31 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The "Ould Dhragoon" | 18:01 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Disappointed Hopes | 29:44 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Little Stumpy Man | 46:58 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Fire | 39:42 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Outbreak | 45:28 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Whirlwind | 20:18 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
The Walk to Dummer | 56:38 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
A Change in our Prospects | 25:16 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Adieu to the Woods | 27:36 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Canadian Sketches (Part One) | 34:56 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Canadian Sketches (Part Two) | 39:04 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Appendix A: Advertisement to the Third Edition | 2:13 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Appendix B: Canada: a Contrast (Introductory Chapter to the 1871 edition) | 20:11 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Appendix C: Jeanie Burns | 36:31 | Read by Moira Fogarty |
Reviews
hard to get into but worth it
jaded_grl
the reader does a good job on this book. the start of the book is a little hard to get into. i have started this book before and gave up on it. this time i held out and several chapters into it i finally took enough interest to pay attention. the writer trys to go chronologically, but at times she goes back to previous homes etc and you can get confused if not paying attention. its not really a complete story - just events that happened thrown together without a common flow. at times the writers husband is telling the story - without warning, so that can get REALLY confusing. but overall i enjoyed it and think its a worthy read for males/females - probably wont be interesting to kids.
An Outstanding Work
Roman100
The author, Susanna Moodie, is an extremely intelligent, compassionate and observant person with a marked talent for writing and for poetry. It is no surprise that her book had been a bestseller in its day. It is even today of the greatest interest, especially to a Canadian. I liked most particularly her very sympathetic vignettes of Canada's native peoples that she had encountered. The incredible hardships and poverty endured by Canada's early pioneers, so vividly described by the author, are a phase of history one tends to gloss over in modern times. Her remark in the early part of the book, which I copied and reproduce here, made me understand so much better my own parents' feelings as immigrants to this same land, whom I had as a youth classified cavalierly and harshly as perpetual exiles: "My heart yearned intensely for my absent home. Home! The word had ceased to belong to my present. It was doomed to live forever in the past. For what immigrant ever regarded the country of his exile as his home? To the land that he has left that name belongs forever, and in no instance does he bestow it upon another. 'I have got a letter from home ...'; 'I have seen a friend from home...'; 'I dreamt last night that I was at home...'; are expressions of everyday occurrence to prove that the heart acknowledges no other home than the land of its birth". How aptly, how penetratingly put! The reader, Moira Fogarty, with a most agreeable voice, does a superlative job. One gets the feeling at times that it is, in fact, Susanna Moodie herself speaking the lines of her own work. I cannot recomment this book too highly, it is such a worthwhile read!
Historical and Interesting
benefitsingers
This is a really good depiction of what pioneer life was like in Canada. I love Canada and grew up near the border. Parts of the story were pretty funny the way the author talked about Americans and borrowing. The narrator was beyond fabulous. I love the different accents she does and how appropriate to have a Canadian narrating this story. I enjoyed this very much. Toward the end it got a bit boring, too much politics. I like the parts of the story about roughing it much better. I recommend this, very good!
I really enjoyed listening to this account of Canadian pioneerin
Roger
Great reading, surprisingly interesting book
Steve
I have picked this up on a whim, and was very pleasantly surprised. The book is quite an interesting account of the place and times, although it takes a bit to get into. But more importantly: the reader is brilliant, with a voice I could listen to all day.
Ditto the others
TwinkieToes
I echo the other reviewers. The reader did an excellent job at this, and the book itself was insightful and interesting.
top narration
Tom Magnum
thank you Moira. Amazing cadence, clarity and pronunciation. 5 stars
kam
Kam
so enjoyed this book, such an excellent reader. thanku