Audiobook · read by volunteers
Backwoods of Canada
Catharine Parr Traill (1802–1899)
Read by Esther · 19 chapters · 8 h 34
About the book
In the 1830s Catharine Parr Traill left England with her husband and crossed the Atlantic to build a new life in the Canadian wilderness. The Backwoods of Canada gathers the letters in which she describes the crossing, the arrival at Quebec and the long journey inland, followed by the effort of making a home in the forest. She writes about log houses, the clearing of land, the seasons, the wild flowers and the neighbours she met, and she gives plain advice to other families thinking of following her. Her tone is observant, practical and often cheerful, even when conditions are harsh. The book is both a travel narrative and a manual for settlers, and it shows a woman who looked at an unfamiliar land with real curiosity. Nineteen sections, read by one volunteer, last about eight and a half hours, a good companion for anyone interested in the history of early Canada.
Introduction
Catharine Parr Traill, who lived from 1802 to 1899, was an English-born writer who emigrated to Upper Canada in the 1830s. She belonged to a literary family, and her sister Susanna Moodie also wrote about life as a settler. The Backwoods of Canada was published in 1836 and was an early and influential book giving British readers a detailed account of life in the Canadian bush.
The book is arranged as a series of letters addressed to family and friends at home. It begins with the voyage from Greenock on the brig Laurel, followed by the arrival off Newfoundland and the departure from Quebec, and then follows the family into the settlement. Traill pays close attention to plants and animals, a habit that later led her to write on Canadian botany. Her advice to well-educated women on how to adapt to the new conditions is one of the book's recurring themes.
The recording has nineteen sections, read by a single LibriVox volunteer, and lasts roughly eight and a half hours. It offers a firsthand view of emigration in the nineteenth century, written by someone who experienced it. Listeners interested in social history, women's writing or the natural world of North America will find a lot to enjoy. The book is also a record of a particular moment in the history of Canada, when new settlements were taking shape and families like Traill's were working out how to live in an unfamiliar climate. Her letters mix practical hints with description, and they communicate the satisfaction she took in her new surroundings.
Public domain
Catharine Parr Traill died in 1899: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text