Atala: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Atala, credited to François-René de Chateaubriand, is available as a LibriVox volunteer audiobook. This guide identifies the recording, its source summary and its audio tracks.

About the work

The LibriVox catalogue summary, preserved with the recording, reads:

LibriVox recording of Atala by François-René de Chateaubriand. Read in English by William Allan Jones What were the lower Mississippi River, Gulf Coast regions, and Appalachians of North America like in the earliest colonial days? Full of untamed forests, wild animals, nuts, berries, and Indians. Chateaubriand spent many years exploring the area, and this early (somewhat autobiographical) novella was inspired by his years spent with various Indian tribes, (described in his Introduction--included after the story), primarily the Natchez. Amongst these natives, as the story goes, was a blind old patriarch named Chactas, revered for his wisdom and knowledge of the affairs of life, including many years spent learning the ways of Europeans. In 1725, a Frenchman named René (Chateaubriand himself?), driven thither by his misfortunes in Europe, arrived at Louisiana. Old Chactas adopted him as a son, and slowly reveals his hardships and adventures. One such story was about Atala, a beautiful indian maiden, who had been converted by French missionaries to Christianity . . . . of their passionate attraction . . . and all the conflict and heartache that arose thereby. (Summary by Michele Fry)

Recording facts

• Recording title: Atala
• Author credits: François-René de Chateaubriand
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 9
• Listed recording duration: 3:15:41

Catalogue topics

• history
• fiction
• romance
• Historical Fiction
• Indians
• wilderness
• louisiana
• early american

Track guide

1. 01 - Prologue — 11:45
2. 02 - Ch 1.1 - The Hunters — 22:22
3. 03 - Ch 1.2 - The Hunters — 29:38
4. 04 - Ch 1.3 - The Hunters — 22:48
5. 05 - Ch 2 - The Laborers — 22:11
6. 06 - Ch 3 - The Drama — 39:01
7. 07 - Ch 4 - The Funeral — 12:55
8. 08 - Ch 5 - Epilogue — 18:57
9. 09 - Introduction — 16:04

Listen to this recording

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Source and rights

This is a record from LibriVox's official Internet Archive collection, with a public-domain licence recorded in its metadata. LibriVox's policy includes its catalogue summaries as well as its recordings. Its public-domain assessment follows United States law; copyright status can differ elsewhere. The summary and track facts are reproduced and reformatted from that record. Dates attached to the archive upload are not treated as original book publication dates.