The Stillwater Tragedy


Read by J. M. Smallheer

(4.5 stars; 216 reviews)

Thomas Bailey Aldrich was an American poet, novelist and editor. Of his many books of poetry and fiction, he may be best known for his semi-autobiographical novel, The Story of a Bad Boy and his collection of short stories, Majorie Daw and Other People. The Stillwater Tragedy which was published in 1880 is set in a small New England manufacturing town whose tranquility is disturbed first by the murder of one of its prominent citizens and soon thereafter by a general strike of all the trades-unions. As the story develops, Richard Shackford, the murdered man's nephew, finds himself inextricably caught up in both these events. (Summary by J. M. Smallheer) (6 hr 1 min)

Chapters

Chapter 1 5:15 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 2 12:35 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 3 19:49 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 4 4:53 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 5 12:06 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 6 11:33 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 7 16:54 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 8 9:51 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 9 19:32 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 10 28:50 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 11 13:53 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 12 12:52 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 13 12:12 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 14 14:16 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 15 7:00 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 16 4:25 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 17 24:45 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 18 14:12 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 19 7:57 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 20 16:56 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 21 13:31 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 22 7:26 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 23 14:41 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 24 9:49 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 25 13:33 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 26 8:48 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 27 21:34 Read by J. M. Smallheer
Chapter 28 2:37 Read by J. M. Smallheer

Reviews

True Mystery


(5 stars)

This is, at times very melancholy, yet remains a genuine mystery with believable characters in difficult situations. I wanted the main characters to find happiness & was entertained throughout. The LibriVox volunteer is excellent, as always.

Great Story nice narration


(5 stars)

I really enjoyed this story. Some audio books I will start listening to and right away I cannot continue because I do not like the narration. The narrator here does a wonderful job. This is a really good story, lots of twists and turns. I would recommend this one for a good listen.

very enjoyable story! no


(5 stars)

JM Smallheer is one of my favorite readers, and her management of the dialects and accents was excellent. The plot was well done, and I enjoyed the arrangement of events, that murder took place at the beginning, and then we went back in the chronology to develop loyalty to the protagonist. The descriptions were superb, especially lines like "blonde mistresses" for the old miser's gold pieces. a very delightful book!

Slow start, but an enjoyable and surprising detective story


(4 stars)

The first few chapters started off slowly. Why should I care about the irascible old man who was killed? But then the author takes us back in time and we find that this is actually a story about Richard, the deceased's cousin, and his growth as a man through the trials of a small New England manufacturing town. To say more is to give away the ending, but suffice to say, by the end, I really did care what happened to Richard Shackford. This is a solo project, so the reading is consistent and easy to listen to. The book's characters form a virtual United Nations, and the reader is challenged by the number and variety of the accents - but the diction is very good throughout and so the various "voices" do not detract from the story.


(5 stars)

It is after reading/listening to half a dozen book's, how much I understand the times & technology may change yet us people have remained quite similar. 1888, 1905, 1925 or 2022. as societies there was gathered talk & serious comment on the influx of folks from many nations & nationalities. And two were talking from this story " if you shall support the Italians I will the Chinese." The Chinese! he bellowed. " why the Chinese?" Loved the story, the twists & turns & enjoying at every character introduced.

Good story


(5 stars)

I really enjoyed the reading of this book. the reader was excellent as always. There was lots of twists and turns and it was really fun to listen to. thank you LibriVox for all that you do.


(4.5 stars)

J.M.Smallheer does a great job of narrating this very well done mystery ! This one has many twists & turns to it and has a very great ending!

Marble-ous murder story


(4 stars)

Worth listening to. Richard rises from poverty to accomplishment and along the way is implicated in family murder, while developing a love interest.