Oldtown Folks: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

Oldtown Folks, credited to Harriet Beecher Stowe, 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 Oldtown Folks by Harriet Beecher Stowe. Read in English by LibriVox volunteers. 1870's rural Massachusetts communities became famous as “Oldtown” in Harriet Beecher Stowe's 7th novel and national bestseller. Based partially on her husband Rev. Calvin Stowe's childhood memories and other old timers' recollections, this story of growing up in rural New England just after the American Revolution is one of the earliest examples of local color writing in New England. Young Horace Holyoke, the novel's narrator, describes life during the early Federalist years, capturing its many rich ideas, customs, and family lore. Villagers wrestle with loyalties to the fledgling government, and with the new secular rationalism provoked by the young nation’s Founders. Clashes between Puritanism, Calvinism, and Arminianism abound. This book helped with the depreciation of Calvinism in that time. Summary by Michele Fry.

Recording facts

• Recording title: Oldtown Folks
• Author credits: Harriet Beecher Stowe
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 51
• Listed recording duration: 22:46:13

Catalogue topics

• New England
• rural america

Opening tracks: first 24 of 51

1. 00 - Preface — 3:49
2. 01 - Ch.1 Old Town And The Minister — 22:20
3. 02 - Ch.2 My Father — 12:40
4. 03 - Ch.3 My Grandmother — 17:46
5. 04 - Ch.4 The Village Do-Nothing — 25:22
6. 05 - Ch.5 The Old Meeting-House — 52:49
7. 06 - Ch.6 Fire-Light Talk In My Grandmother's Kitchen — 54:21
8. 07 - Ch.7 Old Crab Smith — 27:28
9. 08 - Ch.8 Miss Asphyxia — 26:48
10. 09 - Ch.9 Harry's First Day's Work — 10:36
11. 10 - Ch.10 Miss Asphyxia's System — 24:22
12. 11 - Ch.11 The Crisis — 15:45
13. 12 - Ch.12 The Lion's Mouth Shut — 15:16
14. 13 - Ch.13 The Empty Bird's-Nest — 9:00
15. 14 - Ch.14 The Day In Fairy-Land — 28:22
16. 15 - Ch.15 The Old Manor-House — 21:56
17. 16 - Ch.16 Sam Lawson's Discoveries — 21:58
18. 17 - Ch.17 The Visit To The Haunted House — 43:29
19. 18 - Ch.18 Tina's Adoption — 31:14
20. 19 - Ch.19 Miss Mehitable's Letter, and the Reply, Giving Further Hints of the Story — 52:30
21. 20 - Ch.20 Miss Asphyxia Goes In Pursuit, and my Grandmother Gives Her Views on Education — 32:00
22. 21 - Ch.21 What is to be Done with the Boy? — 27:34
23. 22 - Ch.22 Daily Living In Old Town — 34:36
24. 23 - Ch.23 We Take a Step Up In The World — 35:07

Listen to this recording

Open the complete recording and player on Internet Archive. The player includes the full track list and available download formats.

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.