Helen of the Old House
Harold Bell Wright
Read by Bob R
Helen is not the main character; it is the mill, in this small town in the first half of the 20th century. This is a story of labor strife, class inequity and warfare, poverty and wealth, socialism vs. capitalism, and love and hatred. It centers on two families; each family includes a father and a son and a daughter. In their childhood years, they were all very close. Over time, Helen ‘s family becomes very wealthy, the other family less so. By questionable means, Helen’s father becomes the owner of the mill. He represents corporate greed at its worst. A labor organizer named Jake Vodell creates major strife. He is described as a communist and a “foreigner”. A central character is an old, injured and retired worker called the Interpreter. He attempts to make the town realize that the real enemy is neither labor nor capital; it is the extremes of capital greed and labor socialism. Such class conflict is a major backdrop in most of Harold Bell Wright’s novels. He was a best-selling author of his time. His books show how much progress we have made in technology; human behavior seems little changed - Summary by Bob Rollins (10 hr 50 min)
Chapters
The Hut on the Cliff | 47:17 | Read by Bob R |
Little Maggie's Princess Lady | 17:14 | Read by Bob R |
The Interpreter | 26:44 | Read by Bob R |
Peter Martin at Home | 7:57 | Read by Bob R |
Adam Ward's Estate | 21:08 | Read by Bob R |
On the Old Road | 19:21 | Read by Bob R |
The Hidden Thing | 18:39 | Read by Bob R |
While the People Sleep | 31:10 | Read by Bob R |
The Mill | 36:23 | Read by Bob R |
Concerning the New Manager | 18:16 | Read by Bob R |
Comrades | 39:12 | Read by Bob R |
Two Sides of a Question | 16:02 | Read by Bob R |
The Awakening | 17:32 | Read by Bob R |
The Way Back | 17:32 | Read by Bob R |
At the Old House | 11:56 | Read by Bob R |
Her Own People | 22:00 | Read by Bob R |
In the Night | 12:29 | Read by Bob R |
The Gathering Storm | 19:29 | Read by Bob R |
Adam Ward's Work | 26:32 | Read by Bob R |
The People's America | 15:57 | Read by Bob R |
Peter Martin's Problem | 18:05 | Read by Bob R |
Old Friends | 20:15 | Read by Bob R |
A Last Chance | 20:02 | Read by Bob R |
The Flats | 31:33 | Read by Bob R |
McIver's Opportunity | 33:58 | Read by Bob R |
At The Call of the Whistle | 11:43 | Read by Bob R |
Jake Vodell's Mistake | 19:24 | Read by Bob R |
The Mob and the Mill | 24:52 | Read by Bob R |
Contracts | 17:12 | Read by Bob R |
"Jest Like the Interpreter Said" | 10:59 | Read by Bob R |