Cover of The Story of the Thirteen Colonies by Hélène Adeline Guerber

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies

by Hélène Adeline Guerber

7h 21m
Duration
1898
Published
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About This Audiobook

The Story of the Thirteen Colonies is an engaging, narrative-style history written for young readers in the late 19th century. It begins with the ancient geology and pre-Columbian inhabitants of North America, including descriptions of Indigenous peoples (categorized as savage, barbarous, or semi-civilized), their customs, mounds, and way of life. The book then traces European exploration from the Norse voyages and Christopher Columbus's journeys through subsequent Spanish, French, and English efforts, highlighting figures like John Cabot, Ponce de León, Hernando de Soto, Jacques Cartier, and Samuel de Champlain.

It vividly recounts the founding and early struggles of the English colonies, including Jamestown and the adventures of Captain John Smith and Pocahontas, the Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock and the first Thanksgiving, the establishment of Massachusetts Bay, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania (William Penn), Maryland (Catholic settlers), and other colonies. Guerber covers key conflicts like King Philip's War, Bacon's Rebellion, interactions with Native Americans, French and Indian Wars, and rising colonial tensions with Britain—culminating in events like the Stamp Act, Boston Tea Party, battles of Lexington and Bunker Hill, the Declaration of Independence, major Revolutionary War campaigns (Valley Forge, Saratoga, Yorktown), and the British surrender. The book emphasizes virtues such as courage, patriotism, perseverance, and faith while aiming to foster love for American history and its heroes.

Meet the Author
Hélène Adeline GuerberAmerican Educator & Children's Author · 1859 – 1929

Hélène Adeline Guerber, commonly known as H. A. Guerber, was born in 1859 in Mount Clemens, Michigan. Little is documented about her early life and formal education, but she emerged as a prolific writer and historian in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. There are no known images of her. Hélène dedicated her career to making complex subjects accessible, particularly through lively retellings of myths, legends, folklore, epic poetry, operas, and historical events. Her works targeted general readers and especially younger audiences, blending scholarship with engaging narrative style to popularize cultural and historical knowledge during an era when such topics were gaining broad interest.

Guerber's most enduring contributions lie in her books on mythology and ancient history. Her best-known work, Myths of the Norsemen: From the Eddas and Sagas, remains a classic introduction to Norse mythology, drawing directly from primary sources like the Poetic Edda and Prose Edda to recount tales of Odin, Thor, Loki, and the dramatic events leading to Ragnarök. She also authored Myths of Greece and Rome, which similarly synthesized classical myths in an approachable manner. Beyond mythology, she produced a series of historical readers for schoolchildren, including The Story of the Greeks, The Story of the Romans, The Story of the Great Republic, and The Story of the Thirteen Colonies, which presented key events in Western and American history with clarity and narrative flair.

In addition to mythology and history, Guerber explored European folklore and legends in works such as Legends of the Rhine and Legends of Switzerland, capturing regional stories with vivid detail.

Guerber lived much of her later life in Montclair, New Jersey, where she continued her scholarly pursuits until her death on May 26, 1929. Her simple obituary in the local newspaper noted her passing at home. Today she is primarily remembered through her enduring mythological texts—whose clear, enthusiastic prose introduced generations to the epic worlds of Norse, Greek, Roman, and other traditions.

In This Volume
  1. Paideia Introduction1:53
  2. Preface6:25
  3. Our Country Long Ago4:26
  4. The Barbarous Indians4:33
  5. The Mounds4:00
  6. Where the Northmen Went4:30
  7. The Northmen in America4:12
  8. Queer Ideas4:12
  9. Prince Henry the Navigator4:02
  10. Youth of Columbus4:46
  11. Columbus and the Queen5:34
  12. "Land! Land!"5:35
  13. Columbus and the Savages3:43
  14. Home Again4:47
  15. Columbus Illtreated5:03
  16. Death of Columbus3:57
  17. How America Got Its Name3:56
  18. The Fountain of Youth5:03
  19. "The Father of Waters"5:45
  20. The French in Canada4:17
  21. French and Spanish Quarrels4:39
  22. The Sky City4:54
  23. Around the World4:26
  24. Nothing but Smoke4:58
  25. Smith's Adventures5:46
  26. The Jamestown Men4:41
  27. Smith Wounded4:37
  28. The Visit of Pocahontas to England5:38
  29. Hudson and the Indians5:16
  30. The Mayflower6:08
  31. Plymouth Rock4:34
  32. The First American Thanksgiving5:17
  33. The Snake Skin and the Bullets5:35
  34. The Beginning of Boston5:45
  35. Stories of Two Ministers5:03
  36. Williams and the Indians6:46
  37. The Quakers3:01
  38. The King-Killers4:02
  39. King Philip's War5:23
  40. The Beginning of New York6:26
  41. Penn and the Indians6:50
  42. The Catholics in Maryland4:40
  43. The Old Dominion4:05
  44. Bacon's Rebellion3:09
  45. A Journey Inland2:46
  46. The Carolina Pirates6:41
  47. Charter Oak6:46
  48. Salem Witches4:41
  49. Down the Mississippi8:19
  50. La Salle's Adventures6:06
  51. Indians on the Warpath5:32
  52. Two Wars with the French4:49
  53. Washington's Boyhood5:04
  54. Washington's Journey4:45
  55. Washington's First Battle2:10
  56. Stories of Franklin7:41
  57. Braddock's Defeat5:24
  58. Wolfe at Quebec6:23
  59. How England Treated Her Colonies4:51
  60. The Stamp Tax4:22
  61. The Anger of the Colonies4:29
  62. The Boston Tea Party5:38
  63. The Minutemen4:42
  64. The Battle of Lexington4:48
  65. Bunker Hill7:00
  66. The Boston Boys4:25
  67. The British Leave Boston4:44
  68. Declaration of Independence5:28
  69. A Lady's Way of Helping6:57
  70. Christmas Eve6:25
  71. The Fight at Bennington6:46
  72. Burgoyne's Surrender6:31
  73. The Winter at Valley Forge5:29
  74. The Quaker Woman5:32
  75. Putnam's Adventures5:21
  76. Indian Cruelty6:36
  77. Boone in Kentucky6:59
  78. Famous Sea Fights5:42
  79. The "Swamp Fox"5:54
  80. The Poor Soldiers3:15
  81. The Spy8:03
  82. A Traitor's Death3:57
  83. Two Unselfish Women4:28
  84. The Surrender of Cornwallis5:44
  85. The British Flag Hauled Down4:30
  86. Washington's Farewell3:58

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