The Stillwater Tragedy
Thomas Bailey Aldrich
Read by J. M. Smallheer
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
Average American
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
benefitsingers
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
A LibriVox Listener
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
ListeninginChicago
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.
Keith Horvath
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
Granny
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.
tellmeatale
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
Lelah Marie
Worth listening to. Richard rises from poverty to accomplishment and along the way is implicated in family murder, while developing a love interest.