Home Life in Colonial Days
Alice Morse Earle
Read by Susan Morin
CHAPTER I
HOMES OF THE COLONISTS
When the first settlers landed on American shores, the difficulties in finding or making shelter must have seemed ironical as well as almost unbearable. The colonists found a land magnificent with forest trees of every size and variety, but they had no sawmills, and few saws to cut boards; there was plenty of clay and ample limestone on every side, yet they could have no brick and no mortar; grand boulders of granite and rock were everywhere, yet there was not a single facility for cutting, drawing, or using stone. These homeless men, so sorely in need of immediate shelter, were baffled by pioneer conditions, and had to turn to many poor expedients, and be satisfied with rude covering. In Pennsylvania, New York, Massachusetts, and, possibly, other states, some reverted to an ancient form of shelter: they became cave-dwellers; caves were dug ... (taken from first chapter of the book). Talk about starting from scratch!! Susan Morin (13 hr 2 min)
Chapters
Dedication and Forword | 5:06 | Read by Susan Morin |
Homes of the Colonists | 46:45 | Read by Susan Morin |
The Light of Other Days | 29:27 | Read by Susan Morin |
The Kitchen Fireside | 36:59 | Read by Susan Morin |
The Serving of Meals | 47:35 | Read by Susan Morin |
Food from Forest and Sea | 39:25 | Read by Susan Morin |
Indian Corn | 32:39 | Read by Susan Morin |
Meat and Drink | 41:04 | Read by Susan Morin |
Flax Culture and Spinning | 40:13 | Read by Susan Morin |
Wool Culture and Spinning, with a Postscript on Cotton | 45:07 | Read by Susan Morin |
Hand-Weaving | 1:04:44 | Read by Susan Morin |
Girls' Occupations | 51:24 | Read by Susan Morin |
Dress of the Colonists | 36:04 | Read by Susan Morin |
Jack-knife Industries | 45:55 | Read by Susan Morin |
Travel, Transportation, and Taverns | 1:05:28 | Read by Susan Morin |
Sunday in the Colonies | 38:18 | Read by Susan Morin |
Colonial Neighborliness | 1:03:22 | Read by Susan Morin |
Old-time Flower Gardens | 53:14 | Read by Susan Morin |
Reviews
fascinating!
MommaG
my goodness how much we have changed in the USA.... could you imagine not ever having seen a FORK? a fatality in the middle of supper? I know there are comments about the slow meter of the reader, but I realized if she has read faster, I would miss SO MANY descriptions. as it is, I have rewound the recording many times because of the surprising vignettes. must find the book, as the original includes pictures.
What a reader! This reader has the most annoying voice!
Karen S.
I thought this book was fascinating, but I could not get past this horrible reader! Maybe you could do a different version with a better reader. I could not in good conscience give a higher ratings, based on the reader. The book itself is wonderful.
Sloooooooowly Read
A. Reader
My iOS app allows adjusting playback speed, but this reader is difficult to listen to at any speed. I wanted to like it, but this is just awful.
A word to negative critics
Lily
The people who kindly read for Librivox do so at the cost of their own time, and effort. That is why the books are free. I very much appreciate their efforts. If YOU find you can't relate to a reader, move on. Don't torture yourself listening, and then feel as if you've written a review for the New York Times by criticizing the reader. Just be a person of integrity, and pass by, much as one would in a book store, to another title or reader. For those who complain about the speed of the narration... guess what... if you go to your settings bar you'll see a little bunny and a little tortoise. I leave you to guess what they mean.
coolsparks
Material is priceless. Reader’s pace can be amended by speeding up the text read-back speed significantly. I still thank that generous lady for reading this selection. Perhaps some good angels can do an updated version with a touch more-informed pronunciation of place names and rivers and of words less frequently used these days....... do a search for the title, and you can noodle into a photo-digitized version that should allow you to access the ILLUSTRATIONS!!!!
I'm sorry but this is the most distracting voice I've ever heard
debbisears
This is without a doubt the most annoying voice I have ever heard. Not only do I want to kick the reader in the seat to get them to "move" as far as the actual reading, but whatever type of "accent" they are attempting is absolutely horrid.
Great book, horrible reading-needs reread.
ReaderKen
The book is nothing less than exceptional content wise. The narrator has a very nasal voice with poor pronunciation and this makes focusing on the material very difficult. I find I want to hear someone smack them with an object to end the misery so have to take it in small doses.
Sounds like gravel on my ears
Robin
I listened to a minute and couldn’t go on. Am so disappointed because I really wanted to listen to this book. I had recently listened to “Cottage Economy” on another platform (audiobooks I think) the narrator was “Philippa” and I have NEVER heard a better reading voice. Highly recommend