Chesapeake 1850 Audiobook By Ken Rossignol cover art

Chesapeake 1850

Steamboats & Oyster Wars: The News Reader

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Chesapeake 1850

By: Ken Rossignol
Narrated by: Paul J. McSorley
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About this listen

The life of Ethan Aaron Douglas is chronicled as the ten-year-old joins his grandfather for a life on the Chesapeake Bay. With his grandfather as captain of a steamboat traveling between Norfolk, Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, the boy learns quickly about life on the water. From hurricanes to blue crabs, life on the Bay changes quickly.

Learning Shakespeare and witnessing a hanging are just part of the life along the river. Ethan Douglas' life brushes past major events in the United States from slavery to the underground railroad and the days leading up to the civil war. How did those who lived along the Potomac deal with active warfare during the War Between the States? Life was always a war on the water with pirates shooting at each other as well as Maryland and Virginia oyster police. Ethan's younger brothers and sisters soon join him as they grow older and become entrepreneurs - and as the nation's capital city grows and changes.

From buyboats to newspapers, the lives of the Douglas family become part of the history of the young nation. Oysters were the 'white gold' of the east while railroads and shipping competed for freight. This book is the first in the series that will tell the story of life in tidewater Chesapeake Bay region from 1850 to 1950.

©2012 Kenneth C. Rossignol (P)2013 Kenneth C. Rossignol
Fiction Historical Fiction Transportation War Railroad Civil War
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What listeners say about Chesapeake 1850

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Nice History

If you enjoy history you might want to give this a try. It reads more like diary entries so the story flow sometimes seems choppy. The narration wasn't bad but I did struggle in places where the narrator's pauses didn't fit the flow of the story. Plus the cadance was off at times. Still it was a peak into history of the life of a steamboat captain on the Chesapeake Bay which I did find interesting.

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    5 out of 5 stars

A wonderful book that mixes reality and fiction.

Where does Chesapeake 1850 rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It ranks fairly high near the top due to the interesting topic that is delivered in a very unique way.

What did you like best about this story?

I really liked the true news stories that the author presented between the fictional story parts.

What about Paul J. McSorley’s performance did you like?

He really suits the story.

Any additional comments?

A great first book in this series that combines the reality of actual newspaper stories with the fictional development of a family that might have lived in that time. This area of the United States was very important at the time that immigrants were coming to find a place in this new world and the story really takes the reader back into that era of history.

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2 people found this helpful