The Clansman, An Historical Romance of the Ku Klux Klan


Read by Michele Fry

(4.4 stars; 30 reviews)

The second book in a trilogy of the Reconstruction era - The Leopard's Spots (1902), The Clansman (1905), and The Traitor (1907), this novel was the basis for the 1915 silent movie classic, "The Birth Of A Nation". Within a fictional story, it records Dixon's understanding of the origins of the first Ku Klux Klan (his uncle was a Grand Titan during Dixon's childhood), recounting why white southerners' began staging vigilante responses to the savage personal insults, political injustices and social cruelties heaped upon them during Reconstruction. Still considered dangerous "propaganda" encouraging segregation, white unity, and white supremacy, this incendiary novel nevertheless sheds light on the social conditions and the mindset of many Americans (North and South) during that period, and its influence on subsequent southern authors from Margaret Mitchell (Gone With The Wind) to Faulkner, Allen Tate, Robert Penn, and others, was significant. (Michele Fry) (9 hr 28 min)

Chapters

Dedication and Introduction 3:31 Read by Michele Fry
1, 1 - The Bruised Reed 26:16 Read by Michele Fry
1, 2 - The Great Heart 21:43 Read by Michele Fry
1, 3 - The Man of War 6:42 Read by Michele Fry
1, 4 - A Clash of Giants 31:09 Read by Michele Fry
1, 5 - The Battle of Love 8:03 Read by Michele Fry
1, 6 - The Assassination 30:04 Read by Michele Fry
1, 7 - The Frenzy of a Nation 16:40 Read by Michele Fry
2, 1 - The First Lady of the Land 16:31 Read by Michele Fry
2, 2 - Sweethearts 16:12 Read by Michele Fry
2, 3 - The Joy of Living 3:25 Read by Michele Fry
2, 4 - Hidden Treasure 9:45 Read by Michele Fry
2, 5 - Across the Chasm 18:08 Read by Michele Fry
2, 6 - The Gauge of Battle 7:43 Read by Michele Fry
2, 7 - A Woman Laughs 16:56 Read by Michele Fry
2, 8 - A Dream 5:38 Read by Michele Fry
2, 9 - The King Amuses Himself 14:26 Read by Michele Fry
2, 10 - Tossed by the Storm 4:12 Read by Michele Fry
2, 11 - The Supreme Test 21:50 Read by Michele Fry
2, 12 - Triumph in Defeat 12:48 Read by Michele Fry
3, 1 - A Fallen Slaveholder’s Mansion 25:37 Read by Michele Fry
3, 2 - The Eyes of the Jungle 7:14 Read by Michele Fry
3, 3 - Augustus Cæsar 14:08 Read by Michele Fry
3, 4 - At the Point of the Bayonet 23:09 Read by Michele Fry
3, 5 - Forty Acres and a Mule 12:00 Read by Michele Fry
3, 6 - A Whisper in the Crowd 15:33 Read by Michele Fry
3, 7 - By the Light of a Torch 13:42 Read by Michele Fry
3, 8 - The Riot in the Master’s Hall 20:37 Read by Michele Fry
3, 9 - At Lover’s Leap 12:35 Read by Michele Fry
3, 10 - A Night Hawk 19:28 Read by Michele Fry
3, 11 - The Beat of a Sparrow’s Wing 11:28 Read by Michele Fry
3, 12 - At the Dawn of Day 6:07 Read by Michele Fry
4, 1 - The Hunt for the Animal 13:38 Read by Michele Fry
4, 2 - The Fiery Cross 14:11 Read by Michele Fry
4, 3 - The Parting of the Ways 14:09 Read by Michele Fry
4, 4 - The Banner of the Dragon 6:03 Read by Michele Fry
4, 5 - The Reign of the Klan 13:34 Read by Michele Fry
4, 6 - The Counter Stroke 9:20 Read by Michele Fry
4, 7 - The Snare of the Fowler 4:50 Read by Michele Fry
4, 8 - A Ride for a Life 10:34 Read by Michele Fry
4, 9 - “Vengeance Is Mine” 8:44 Read by Michele Fry

Reviews

Best of the three


(4 stars)

Realize from what perspective this is written and enjoy it for what it is. Well read.


(5 stars)

Congratulations again (following the first volume of the trilogy) to Ms. Fry for a performance that captures Dixon’s intent and leaves no melodrama understated. And again zero stars for this novel’s message of bigotry and propaganda, to be read as history for its outlandish caricature of Thaddeus Stevens and frightening glorification of racial inequality.

stolen elections, confiscation, corrupt politicans...


(5 stars)

division of America...oh my....seems like yesterday in many respects. well read saga. historical fiction or current events?

not Raycyst enough


(4.5 stars)

As an old white male, I am by definition a Raycyst Bigot. I have the crazy raycyst idea that black and white folks can live together in harmony. This view is now known to be problematic. The correct view is that blacks must be separated from whites so they will not be oppressed by evil white folks. I expected this book to reinforce my raycyst views. I am extremely disapointed in the fact this book is an anti-raycyst diatribe. The book calls for the separation of the races, which is an extremely progressive and enlightened view of racial justice. It is pretty much what the liberal ivy league schools are calling for. Who would have thought this book on the founding of the clan would have so much in common with contemporary enlightened views on diversity and inclusion.

Good though biased story, bad narration.


(3 stars)

With apologies to the lady's feelings, the narrator's voice grinds & grates throughout, to the great detriment of the story. Frequent mispronunciations of words such as "indict" & "indicted' which she calls indicked & indickted, confuse the listener and approach comedy. Were it not for the competent, although melodramatic writing, I would have given up long before the end.