Harriet Beecher Stowe, Author of Uncle Tom's Cabin - Biography for Young Readers

By: Martha Foote Crow

Narrated by: Peter Lerman

Length: 7 hrs and 57 mins

Publisher's summary

Harriet Beecher Stowe wrote Uncle Tom's Cabin, the book that changed the course of the nation. It changed American history. Some say it was the most important book in the history of the United States.

Stowe was a strong and moral abolitionist. She was one of 13 children raised in a Puritan family in Litchfield, Connecticut. Her father was a renowned minister in the Church and one of her brothers became a prominent preacher and anti-slavery campaigner as well: Henry Ward Beecher. She was a gifted writer and though Uncle Tom's Cabin was only one of the many excellent literary works she authored, it was far and away the most impactful. It was the second best-selling book of the 19th Century. Only The Bible sold more copies.

In 1862, she went to the White House to meet Abraham Lincoln. History tells us that when the tall and lanky Lincoln met the diminutive Stowe he said to her, "So you are the little woman who wrote the book that started this great war." During the years she lived in Hartford, Connecticut, she was next-door neighbor to Mark Twain!

This is the true story of her life, narrated by award winning narrator Peter Lerman. Lerman is a nonfiction narrator and has recorded several biographies including Jackie Robinson, Franklin Roosevelt, Woody Guthrie, Al Smith, Townes Van Zandt and Al Smith, among others. His narration of a biography of rare book dealer, gambler, and fine art forger Johnny Jenkins won an Audiofile magazine 'Earphones Award'.

This recording is copyrighted in the year 2023 by Bull Mouse Publishing House. The text of this book is in the public domain.

Public Domain (P)2023 Bull Mouse Publishing House

Interesting Biography

A great introduction to the life of a literary genius, and a must listen for children and adults alike. Although at times the text offers what seems to be excessively minute details, it all actually lends well to the biography of Harriet Beecher Stowe. Narration by Peter Lerman is perfect, his voice, cadence and performance gives one the impression of listening to a favorite professor chatting with colleagues over dinner. Never does the listener get the feeling Lerman is nothing less than professional, and quite easy to listen to.

Thoroughly Enjoyable

Sweet, heartwarming stories which give the listener a full picture of growing up in New England in the early 19th Century. Then, as the protagonist becomes a young woman we see her blossom.

The bright, hardworking woman becomes a wife, a mother and an extraordinary writer. The story from beginning to end is inspiring.

The narrator does a fine job with the material and this audiobook is great for younger listeners, their parents, or even whole families all together.

A Fascinating Bio Young Readers of All Ages

Originally published in 1913, one might expect the prose in this lovely book to be nearly as "archaic" to the contemporary listener as the prose of Harriet Beecher Stowe herself. This is far from the case, although an occasional usage may be unfamiliar. I am happy to tell you that this biography "for Young Readers" was equally appropriate for and rewarding to this septuagenarian listener. As a New Englander I was charmed to hear of the aristocratic ladies of Litchfield, CT, melting shattered pieces of a leaden statue of King George and molding them into bullets for the Revolution. Description of schooling and "churching" in the early 1800s, along with such historic tidbits, show the forces that shaped the influential writer. Narrator Peter Lerman delivers a well-paced, natural storytelling that kept me interested and listening.