Roughing It in the Bush


Read by Moira Fogarty

(4.4 stars; 53 reviews)

'Roughing It In the Bush' is Susanna Moodie's account of how she coped with the harshness of life in the woods of Upper Canada, as an Englishwoman homesteading abroad. Her narrative was constructed partly as a response to the glowing falsehoods European land-agents were circulating about life in the New World. Her chronicle is frank and humorous, and was a popular sensation at the time of its publication in 1852. (Summary by Moira Fogarty) (18 hr 48 min)

Chapters

Introduction to the Third Edition 15:35 Read by Moira Fogarty
A Visit to Grosse Isle 26:35 Read by Moira Fogarty
Quebec 31:38 Read by Moira Fogarty
Our Journey up the Country 27:56 Read by Moira Fogarty
Tom Wilson's Emigration 51:19 Read by Moira Fogarty
Our First Settlement, and the Borrowing System 52:08 Read by Moira Fogarty
Old Satan and Tom Wilson's Nose 22:54 Read by Moira Fogarty
Uncle Joe and His Family 41:26 Read by Moira Fogarty
John Monaghan 30:09 Read by Moira Fogarty
Phoebe R---, and Our Second Moving 24:56 Read by Moira Fogarty
Brian, the Still-Hunter 41:55 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Charivari 52:35 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Village Hotel 30:52 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Land-Jobber 59:59 Read by Moira Fogarty
A Journey to the Woods 31:16 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Wilderness and Our Indian Friends (Part One) 36:34 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Wilderness and Our Indian Friends (Part Two) 31:51 Read by Moira Fogarty
Burning the Fallow 16:11 Read by Moira Fogarty
Our Logging-Bee 28:06 Read by Moira Fogarty
A Trip to Stony Lake 31:31 Read by Moira Fogarty
The "Ould Dhragoon" 18:01 Read by Moira Fogarty
Disappointed Hopes 29:44 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Little Stumpy Man 46:58 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Fire 39:42 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Outbreak 45:28 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Whirlwind 20:18 Read by Moira Fogarty
The Walk to Dummer 56:38 Read by Moira Fogarty
A Change in our Prospects 25:16 Read by Moira Fogarty
Adieu to the Woods 27:36 Read by Moira Fogarty
Canadian Sketches (Part One) 34:56 Read by Moira Fogarty
Canadian Sketches (Part Two) 39:04 Read by Moira Fogarty
Appendix A: Advertisement to the Third Edition 2:13 Read by Moira Fogarty
Appendix B: Canada: a Contrast (Introductory Chapter to the 1871 edition) 20:11 Read by Moira Fogarty
Appendix C: Jeanie Burns 36:31 Read by Moira Fogarty

Reviews

hard to get into but worth it


(4 stars)

the reader does a good job on this book. the start of the book is a little hard to get into. i have started this book before and gave up on it. this time i held out and several chapters into it i finally took enough interest to pay attention. the writer trys to go chronologically, but at times she goes back to previous homes etc and you can get confused if not paying attention. its not really a complete story - just events that happened thrown together without a common flow. at times the writers husband is telling the story - without warning, so that can get REALLY confusing. but overall i enjoyed it and think its a worthy read for males/females - probably wont be interesting to kids.

An Outstanding Work


(5 stars)

The author, Susanna Moodie, is an extremely intelligent, compassionate and observant person with a marked talent for writing and for poetry. It is no surprise that her book had been a bestseller in its day. It is even today of the greatest interest, especially to a Canadian. I liked most particularly her very sympathetic vignettes of Canada's native peoples that she had encountered. The incredible hardships and poverty endured by Canada's early pioneers, so vividly described by the author, are a phase of history one tends to gloss over in modern times. Her remark in the early part of the book, which I copied and reproduce here, made me understand so much better my own parents' feelings as immigrants to this same land, whom I had as a youth classified cavalierly and harshly as perpetual exiles: "My heart yearned intensely for my absent home. Home! The word had ceased to belong to my present. It was doomed to live forever in the past. For what immigrant ever regarded the country of his exile as his home? To the land that he has left that name belongs forever, and in no instance does he bestow it upon another. 'I have got a letter from home ...'; 'I have seen a friend from home...'; 'I dreamt last night that I was at home...'; are expressions of everyday occurrence to prove that the heart acknowledges no other home than the land of its birth". How aptly, how penetratingly put! The reader, Moira Fogarty, with a most agreeable voice, does a superlative job. One gets the feeling at times that it is, in fact, Susanna Moodie herself speaking the lines of her own work. I cannot recomment this book too highly, it is such a worthwhile read!

Historical and Interesting


(5 stars)

This is a really good depiction of what pioneer life was like in Canada. I love Canada and grew up near the border. Parts of the story were pretty funny the way the author talked about Americans and borrowing. The narrator was beyond fabulous. I love the different accents she does and how appropriate to have a Canadian narrating this story. I enjoyed this very much. Toward the end it got a bit boring, too much politics. I like the parts of the story about roughing it much better. I recommend this, very good!

I really enjoyed listening to this account of Canadian pioneerin


(5 stars)

Great reading, surprisingly interesting book


(5 stars)

I have picked this up on a whim, and was very pleasantly surprised. The book is quite an interesting account of the place and times, although it takes a bit to get into. But more importantly: the reader is brilliant, with a voice I could listen to all day.

Ditto the others


(4 stars)

I echo the other reviewers. The reader did an excellent job at this, and the book itself was insightful and interesting.

kam


(4.5 stars)

so enjoyed this book, such an excellent reader. thanku

Great job 👍


(4 stars)

Reader and author's stories were wonderful!