Audiobook · read by volunteers
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm
Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856–1923)
Read by Sibella Denton, Betsie Bush, Lori Hebel, Mary Anderson, Lorelle Anderson, Mim Ritty, Philippa Willitts, LilianaVale, Lucy Burgoyne (1950-2014) · 31 chapters · 7 h 53
About the book
Rebecca Randall is a girl of about ten, bright, curious and full of stories, and she has just been sent from her crowded farm home to live with her two aunts in the quiet Maine village of Riverboro. Aunt Miranda is strict and exacting, Aunt Jane gentler and more hesitant, and neither is quite prepared for a girl who talks to everyone, makes up poems on the spot and cannot help brightening a room. From the stagecoach ride that begins the book through school, friendships, small scandals and growing up, Kate Douglas Wiggin follows Rebecca’s progress with warmth and a gently comic eye. This is a story about imagination and kindness, about ambition and homesickness, and about how a spirited girl can change the people around her. Nine LibriVox volunteers share the thirty-one chapters, each with a different voice, which keeps the book fresh from start to finish. A classic of American girlhood, well worth rediscovering.
Introduction
Kate Douglas Wiggin was born in 1856 and died in 1923. She was an American author and educator, and she was a pioneer in early childhood education, founding one of the first free kindergartens in California before turning to full-time writing. Her interest in children shaped her fiction, which is notable for its sympathy and humour. She had already won a loyal following with The Birds’ Christmas Carol and Timothy’s Quest before Rebecca appeared.
Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was published in 1903 and became one of the best-selling American novels of its time. It describes the early life of a young girl whose high spirits and vivid imagination end up inspiring the two stern aunts who take her in. The setting is rural Maine, in the village of Riverboro, with its village routines, church services, school days and the slow rhythm of country life.
The book belongs to a long line of stories about spirited girls, which includes Anne of Green Gables and Pollyanna, and it has been adapted for stage and screen several times. Part of its appeal is the way it takes Rebecca’s dreams seriously, even when the adults around her are not sure what to do with them. Part of it is simple pleasure in the village characters, whose quirks and kindnesses fill the pages.
This LibriVox version is divided into thirty-one chapters and lasts almost eight hours. Nine volunteer readers share the work, so you will hear a range of voices over the course of the story. It suits family listening, long journeys and anyone who enjoys a heartwarming classic.
Public domain
Kate Douglas Wiggin died in 1923: 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