The Canadians of Old: Free Audiobook and Listening Guide

The Canadians of Old, credited to Philippe Aubert de Gaspé, 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 The Canadians of Old by Philippe Aubert de Gaspé. Read in English by Bruce Pirie. In his mid-70s, Philippe Aubert de Gaspé took on the project of recording the culture and heritage of French Canada, especially that of the 1700s, the world of his youth. The result, published in French in 1863, was the historical fiction "Les Anciens Canadiens (literally, “The Canadians of Old”) In this book, inspired by the historical novels of Sir Walter Scott, Aubert de Gaspé collected the customs, traditions, folk tales, superstitions, and songs of the Quebec people, wove in memories of life in his own ancestral home, and set all this within the momentous historical events that transformed Canada in the 18th century. Much of the book is historically accurate, based sometimes on the author’s own experiences and sometimes on memories passed on to him by eyewitnesses. For example, his account of being sent to debtor’s prison came from the author’s own experience. The fantastic ghost story of “La Corriveau” was based on the true story of a murderess whose body was on public display in iron chains (a “cage”) for weeks after her execution. That initial incident had already been spun into a lurid legend, and Aubert de Gaspé was the first to incorporate the legend into a work of literature. The book’s storyline hinges on the British Conquest of Quebec in 1759 and the ensuing trauma suffered by French Canada. Fictional characters are intertwined with historical figures such as a famous shipwreck survivor and specific military officers. The book is an engaging window on cultural history and one of the first great works of French Canadian literature. The English translator of this edition, Sir Charles G. D. Roberts, was himself a distinguished author. He has been called “the father of Canadian poetry.” (Summary by Bruce Pirie) *Warning: Listeners may be offended by some of the racial labels and depictions. Words that were considered acceptable in the nineteenth century may be offensive today. It is LibriVox policy to leave the original wording as the author intended.*

Recording facts

• Recording title: The Canadians of Old
• Author credits: Philippe Aubert de Gaspé
• Language: English
• Original MP3 tracks: 18
• Listed recording duration: 9:30:01

Catalogue topics

• Quebec
• french canada
• cultural heritage
• conquest of quebec
• plains of abraham
• quebecois folklore
• history of quebec

Track guide

1. 01 - Leaving College — 18:29
2. 02 - D'Haberville and Cameron of Lochiel — 23:10
3. 03 - A Night with the Sorcerers — 27:58
4. 04 - La Corriveau — 22:22
5. 05 - The Breaking up of the Ice — 42:22
6. 06 - A Supper at the House of a French-Canadian Seigneur — 46:50
7. 07 - D'Haberville Manor House — 32:34
8. 08 - The May-Feast — 15:40
9. 09 - The Feast of St. Jean-Baptiste — 26:51
10. 10 - — 36:07
11. 11 - Madame D'Haberville's Story — 26:08
12. 12 - The Burning of the South Shore — 27:48
13. 13 - A Night among the Savages — 36:57
14. 14 - The Plains of Abraham — 32:48
15. 15 - The Shipwreck of the Auguste — 30:57
16. 16 - Lochiel and Blanche — 54:01
17. 17 - The Family Hearth — 29:45
18. 18 - Conclusion — 39:14

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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.