Round the Block
John Bell Bouton
Play
Length 18 h 7 min
Chapters 83
First published 1864
In Round the Block (1864), John Bell Bouton, a newspaper editor who later became a travel writer, stirs together comedy and pathos to explore the schemes and dreams of the average and extraordinary people inhabiting and intermingling on a single New York City block. In the path of the novel's circumambulation lie mystery, romance, and a murder trial, as love-matches and fortunes are made and lost through invention, speculation, and flimflam - plenty of flimflam. This richly-charactered novel, told with Dickensian brio, offers a fascinating slice of life, vivid in detail, of the bustling big-city habits and mores of America shortly before the Civil War. (Introduction by Grant Hurlock)
Chapters
1
Book 1 Chapter 1 The Block Read by Grant Hurlock 8:17
2
Book 1 Chapter 2 Three Bachelors Read by Grant Hurlock 22:12
3
Book 1 Chapter 3 Peeps Read by Grant Hurlock 15:14
4
Book 1 Chapter 4 Quigg Read by Grant Hurlock 12:48
5
Book 1 Chapter 5 Pleasure as Business Read by Grant Hurlock 6:37
6
Book 1 Chapter 6 Something Hidden Read by Grant Hurlock 18:48
7
Book 1 Chapter 7 The Boy Bog Read by Grant Hurlock 6:52
8
Book 1 Chapter 8 Maltboy\'s Twentieth Affair Read by Grant Hurlock 18:19
9
Book 1 Chapter 9 Mrs. Slapman at Home Read by Grant Hurlock 12:55
10
Book 1 Chapter 10 Infirmities of Genius Read by Grant Hurlock 17:21
11
Book 2 Chapter 1 The Enigma Read by Grant Hurlock 9:00
12
Book 2 Chapter 2 A Delicate Proposition Read by Grant Hurlock 9:57
13
Book 2 Chapter 3 An Auxiliary of Modern Civilization Read by Grant Hurlock 15:03
14
Book 2 Chapter 4 Miss Pillbody Read by Grant Hurlock 7:30
15
Book 2 Chapter 5 A Friend in Need Read by Grant Hurlock 11:09
16
Book 2 Chapter 6 Branching Out Read by Grant Hurlock 14:04
17
Book 2 Chapter 7 The Little Pupil Read by Grant Hurlock 8:00
18
Book 3 Chapter 1 "One-Two-Three-Four" Read by Grant Hurlock 13:06
19
Book 3 Chapter 2 The Falling Board Read by Grant Hurlock 5:36
20
Book 3 Chapter 3 Sneaking Justified Read by Grant Hurlock 10:19
21
Book 3 Chapter 4 Up in the Air Read by Grant Hurlock 11:27
22
Book 3 Chapter 5 Tongues of Fire Read by Grant Hurlock 8:38
23
Book 4 Chapter 1 Myndert Van Quintem and Son Read by Grant Hurlock 25:55
24
Book 4 Chapter 2 Buying Good Behavior Read by Grant Hurlock 13:29
25
Book 4 Chapter 3 The Young Monster Read by Grant Hurlock 14:01
26
Book 4 Chapter 4 Wesley Tiffles Read by Grant Hurlock 21:41
27
Book 4 Chapter 5 The Panorama of Africa Read by Grant Hurlock 13:15
28
Book 5 Chapter 1 Stolen - More Than a Purse Read by Grant Hurlock 14:41
29
Book 5 Chapter 2 Consolations of High Art Read by Grant Hurlock 25:35
30
Book 5 Chapter 3 Loving Afar Off Read by Grant Hurlock 10:24
31
Book 5 Chapter 4 Legerdemain Read by Grant Hurlock 12:05
32
Book 6 Chapter 1 The Unknown Hand Read by Grant Hurlock 16:53
33
Book 6 Chapter 2 In Vain - In Vain Read by Grant Hurlock 14:04
34
Book 6 Chapter 3 The Clashing Orbs Read by Grant Hurlock 10:26
35
Book 6 Chapter 4 A Vision of Horrors Read by Grant Hurlock 17:59
36
Book 6 Chapter 5 What the Morning Brought Read by Grant Hurlock 3:31
37
Book 7 Chapter 1 Pea-Shooting as a Science Read by Grant Hurlock 7:13
38
Book 7 Chapter 2 By Steam Read by Grant Hurlock 22:50
39
Book 7 Chapter 3 Pigworth, J.P. Read by Grant Hurlock 10:40
40
Book 7 Chapter 4 Stoop Read by Grant Hurlock 20:32
41
Book 7 Chapter 5 An Audience Analyzed Read by Grant Hurlock 14:58
42
Book 7 Chapter 6 Humors of the Many-Headed Read by Grant Hurlock 21:00
43
Book 7 Chapter 7 Scenes Not in the Bills Read by Grant Hurlock 11:02
44
Book 8 Chapter 1 The Overture Read by Grant Hurlock 8:34
45
Book 8 Chapter 2 Curtain Up Read by Grant Hurlock 15:16
46
Book 8 Chapter 3 Act Second Read by Grant Hurlock 16:37
47
Book 8 Chapter 4 How the Play Ended Read by Grant Hurlock 6:56
48
Book 9 Chapter 1 Coroner and Jury Read by Grant Hurlock 12:54
49
Book 9 Chapter 2 Statement of the Prisoner Read by Grant Hurlock 17:51
50
Book 9 Chapter 3 Justice Goes to Dinner Read by Grant Hurlock 10:01
51
Book 9 Chapter 4 Light in the Prison Read by Grant Hurlock 16:48
52
Book 9 Chapter 5 The Sorrow of White Hairs Read by Grant Hurlock 7:27
53
Book 9 Chapter 6 What Paper, Types, and Ink Can Do Read by Grant Hurlock 9:14
54
Book 9 Chapter 7 Pet as a Witness Read by Grant Hurlock 15:12
55
Book 9 Chapter 8 The Beneficence of Fire Bells Read by Grant Hurlock 9:08
56
Book 9 Chapter 9 An Old Man\'s Offering Read by Grant Hurlock 19:28
57
Book 10 Chapter 1 A Fisher of Men Read by Grant Hurlock 9:59
58
Book 10 Chapter 2 Playing with the Line Read by Grant Hurlock 5:53
59
Book 10 Chapter 3 Pulling In Read by Grant Hurlock 11:48
60
Book 10 Chapter 4 The First of May Read by Grant Hurlock 9:28
61
Book 10 Chapter 5 Demolition of Certain Air Castles Read by Grant Hurlock 15:57
62
Book 10 Chapter 6 Mr. Whedell\'s Creditors in Convention Assembled Read by Grant Hurlock 14:15
63
Book 10 Chapter 7 Deus ex Machina Read by Grant Hurlock 12:02
64
Book 11 Chapter 1 The Old House Revisited Read by Grant Hurlock 14:08
65
Book 11 Chapter 2 A Posthumous Secret Read by Grant Hurlock 7:58
66
Book 11 Chapter 3 Overtop Finds a Sensible Woman Read by Grant Hurlock 10:25
67
Book 11 Chapter 4 Innocence on a Slippery Road Read by Grant Hurlock 8:45
68
Book 11 Chapter 5 Bog\'s Open Seseme Read by Grant Hurlock 14:17
69
Book 11 Chapter 6 Tracked Read by Grant Hurlock 11:52
70
Book 11 Chapter 7 Found and Lost Read by Grant Hurlock 12:59
71
Book 12 Chapter 1 The \"Cosmopolitan Window Fastener\" Read by Grant Hurlock 12:15
72
Book 12 Chapter 2 Middle-Aged Cupid Read by Grant Hurlock 9:50
73
Book 12 Chapter 3 Slapman vs. Slapman Read by Grant Hurlock 11:00
74
Book 12 Chapter 4 How Overman Sealed a Contract in a Way Unknown to Chitty Read by Grant Hurlock 10:49
75
Book 12 Chapter 5 A Returned Californian Read by Grant Hurlock 14:42
76
Book 12 Chapter 6 Revelations of a Laugh Read by Grant Hurlock 14:24
77
Book 13 Chapter 1 A Story of the Past Read by Grant Hurlock 14:42
78
Book 13 Chapter 2 Possible Love Read by Grant Hurlock 4:33
79
Book 13 Chapter 3 Uncle and Niece Read by Grant Hurlock 11:39
80
Book 14 Chapter 1 Owners of the Beautiful Read by Grant Hurlock 8:01
81
Book 14 Chapter 2 The Last of a Mystery Read by Grant Hurlock 12:20
82
Book 14 Chapter 3 Love Crowned Read by Grant Hurlock 34:34
83
Book 14 Chapter 4 Five Years Read by Grant Hurlock 17:25
From LibriVox, read by volunteers and in the public domain. LibriVox page (opens librivox.org) , the text (opens gutenberg.org) , all files on the Internet Archive (opens archive.org) .
