This project is now complete! All audio files can be found on our catalog page: https://librivox.org/the-two-brothers-by-honore-de-balzac/
Source text (please read only from this text!): https://gutenberg.org/ebooks/1380“The Two Brothers” (1842) is part of Balzac’s great life work, the novel series known as “The Human Comedy.” Balzac’s French title was “La Rabouilleuse”; other English translations have been variously titled “The Black Sheep” and “A Bachelor’s Establishment.”
After initially detailing the backstories of his characters, Balzac launches into an engaging and searing portrait of family relationships: parental, filial, and sibling relations are all tested to the breaking point.
In a small town in post-Napoleonic France, a father mistakenly believes that his daughter is not his legitimate offspring, and hustles her off to be raised by his in-laws in Paris. This girl grows up, marries, and becomes the mother of two boys. Mistakenly, she dotes on only one of these sons, unable to see that the lad is in fact a selfish, cruel scoundrel.
Meanwhile, back in the provinces, her brother, still ensconced in the family home, has grown up to be a feckless non-entity, vulnerable to the manipulations of those around him, including an attractive servant girl (“La Rabouilleuse”) who has been taken into the household.
Things get complicated when the Paris branch of the family returns to the small town, hoping to carve out for themselves a share of the late father’s inheritance. (Summary by Bruce Pirie)
Target completion date: 2024-06-30
Prooflistening level: Standard
Prospective PLs, please see the Guide for Proof-listeners.
IMPORTANT - soloist, please note: in order to limit the number of languishing projects on our server, we ask that you post an update at least once a month in your project thread, even if you haven't recorded 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).
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Magic Window:
BC Admin
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This paragraph is temporary and will be replaced by the MC with the list of sections and reader (Magic Window) once this project is in the admin system.
[list]
[*]Project Code: o2EVpisH
[*]Link to author on Wikipedia (if available): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Honoré_de_Balzac (Honoré de Balzac)
[*]Link to title on Wikipedia (if available): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Rabouilleuse
[*]Number of sections (files) this project will have: 17
[*]Does the project have an introduction or preface: No
[*]Original publication date (if known): 1842
[*]If you are a new volunteer, how would you like your name (or pseudonym) credited in the catalog?
[*]Do you have a URL you would like associated with your name?:
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Genres for the project: Literary Fiction; General Fiction/Published 1800 -1900
Keywords that describe the book: siblings, realism, parents, 19th-Century France, family relations, post-Napoleonic France
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LibriVox recording settings: mono (1 channel), 44100 Hz sample rate, 128 kbps constant bit rate MP3. See the Tech Specs
Intro to recording:
Leave 0.5 to 1 second of silence at the beginning.
For the first section, say:
For the second and subsequent sections, you may use the shortened intro if you wish:"Chapter 1 of The Two Brothers. This is a LibriVox recording. All LibriVox recordings are in the public domain. For more information or to volunteer, please visit librivox.org. Read by Bruce Pirie. The Two Brothers, by Honoré de Balzac, translated by Katherine Prescott Wormeley."
End of recording:"Chapter) # of The Two Brothers, by Honoré de Balzac, translated by Katherine Prescott Wormeley. This LibriVox recording is in the public domain. Read by Bruce Pirie."
Say:
If you are recording the final section of the book, add:"End of chapter) #."
Leave 5 seconds of silence at the end."End of The Two Brothers, by Honoré de Balzac, translated by Katherine Prescott Wormeley."
Filename: twobrothers_##_balzac_128kb.mp3 where ## is the section number. (e.g. twobrothers_01_balzac_128kb.mp3)
Upload to the LibriVox Uploader: https://librivox.org/login/uploader
MC to select: icequeen
Copy and paste the file link generated by the uploader into the relevant Listen URL field in the Section Compiler, enter the duration in the Notes field, and post in this thread to let your PL and MC know that you have uploaded a file. You may also post the file link in the thread.