Published in 1812, “The Absentee” by Maria Edgeworth examines social injustice in 19th-century Britain. At that time, the management of many Irish estates suffered from the absenteeism of their Anglo-Irish landlords.
We meet Lord and Lady Clonbrony. Lord Clonbrony struggles with debt, while Lady Clonbrony tries to shed her Irishness and earn status in London’s high society (known as “the ton.”) Meanwhile, their son, Lord Colambre, is wary of the entanglements of that society and escapes to the family estate in Ireland, where he discovers the abuses that have arisen in the family’s absence.
Maria Edgeworth was a pioneer of realism in fiction, and one of the most successful and popular novelists of her time. She offered satirical portraits of society manners and sympathetic treatment of regional life. Her work won admiration from authors such as Jane Austen and Sir Walter Scott. “The Absentee” is named in the reference list “1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die.” (Summary by Bruce Pirie)
Type of proof-listening required (Note: please read the PL FAQ): standard
IMPORTANT - soloist, please note: in order to limit the amount of languishing projects (and hence the amount of files on our hard-pressed server), we ask that you post an update at least once a month in your project thread, even if you haven't managed to record anything. If we don't hear from you for three months, your project may be opened up to a group project if a Book Coordinator is found. Files you have completed will be used in this project. If you haven't recorded anything yet, your project will be removed from the forum (contact any admin to see if it can be re-instated). Please don't download or listen to files belonging to projects in process (unless you are the BC or PL). Our servers are not set up to handle the greater volume of traffic. Please wait until the project has been completed. Thanks!
The reader will record the following at the beginning and end of each file:
No more than 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the recording! START of recording (Intro):
"Chapter [number] of The Absentee. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information, or to volunteer, please visit: librivox DOT org"
If you wish, say:
"Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
Say: "The Absentee, by Maria Edgeworth. [Chapter]"
For the second and all subsequent sections, you may optionally use the shortened form of this intro disclaimer:
"Chapter [number] of The Absentee by Maria Edgeworth. This LibriVox recording is in the Public Domain."
If you wish, say:
"Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
Only if applicable, say: "[Chapter title]"
END of recording:
At the end of the section, say: "End of [Chapter]"
If you wish, say: "Recording by [your name], [city, your blog, podcast, web address]"
At the end of the book, say (in addition): "End of The Absentee, by Maria Edgeworth. "
There should be ~5 seconds silence at the end of the recording.
Example filename absentee_##_edgeworth_128kb.mp3 (all lower-case) where ## is the section number (e.g. absentee_01_edgeworth_128kb.mp3)
Transfer of files (completed recordings) Please always post in this forum thread when you've sent a file. Also, post the length of the recording (file duration: mm:ss) together with the link.
I should mention that Chapter 1 introduces a minor character, Mr. Mordicai, who is presented as an unmistakably anti-Semitic stereotype. Edgeworth later regretted this portrayal, and tried to make amends by basing a later novel on a sympathetically portrayed Jewish character.
I think it's part and parcel of these stories that based in outdated ideologies and mores. As long as we recognize it for what it is, it still makes the stories enjoyable.
Chapter 1: Can you add .5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the story? Other than that PL OK!
You are a terrific reader! I can't wait until the next chapter!
jenniferrd wrote: ↑January 20th, 2018, 3:15 pm
Can you add .5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the story?
Thanks, Jennifer. Since the guideline is "no more than 0.5 to 1 second," I've always taken that literally, i.e., as a maximum, not as implying any minimum. However, I've re-uploaded the chapter with .5 second silence at the beginning.
jenniferrd wrote: ↑January 20th, 2018, 3:15 pm
Can you add .5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning of the story?
Thanks, Jennifer. Since the guideline is "no more than 0.5 to 1 second," I've always taken that literally, i.e., as a maximum, not as implying any minimum. However, I've re-uploaded the chapter with .5 second silence at the beginning.
Bruce
That would be an excellent question, I always interpreted it as between .5 and 1 second. Regardless - it's now PL OK!
Incidentally, at 2:11, I made a little correction to the text. The Gutenberg rendering of the text reads "ecoinieres", but that should be "encoinières." I checked this by going to the original photoscan of the text at archive.org. (Not that it's very important.)
There were three little spots where there was an error in the Gutenberg version; of course, I confirmed each case by checking the photo version at archive.org.
• At 7:28, "shelved a desire" should be "showed a desire"
• At 20:31, "an explanation in her car" should be "an explanation in her ear"
• At 33:11, "Now comprehend perfectly" should be "Now I comprehend perfectly"
And here's a little nerdish trivia. At one point in this chapter, someone wearing a black coat leaves a stain on a white sofa. I checked this out. Synthetic (aniline) dyes were not developed until the middle of the 1800s — that is, after the period of this novel. Before then, dyes for fabrics were made with "natural" or "organic" pigments, and black dye was notorious for rubbing off.* So, thoughtlessly sitting on white furniture while wearing a black coat was indeed likely to cause a problem. (I suppose what's going on here is that we're being reminded of the foolish impracticality of indulging in something like white furniture.)
Bruce
(* I suppose the Victorian fashion, later in the century, of wearing (black)mourning clothes for a long time was practical only thanks to the development of these new dyes.)