
Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Short Stories
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Narrated by:
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Vincent Marzello
About this listen
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in 1804 in the city of Salem, Massachusetts. His father, a sea captain, died when Nathaniel was 4 and Nathaniel, always a shy child, spent his early years with his Mother and two sisters. Hit on the leg by a ball, doctors could finds nothing wrong, but he went lame and was bedridden for a year. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, and graduated in 1825.
Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, the novel Fanshawe, in 1828. He continued to publish in various periodicals, which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody, eventually marrying her in 1842. His defining work, The Scarlet Letter, was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. The majority of his works centre on New England and have a Puritan inspiration and outlook, with their inherent evil and sin of humanity. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.
This volume centres on his short stories, which are beautifully crafted pieces layered with characters ill at ease with their path through life.
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On July 28, 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife left their house in Western Massachusetts to visit relatives. Hawthorne and his 5-year-old son Julian stayed behind. How father and son got on together for the next three weeks is the subject of Twenty Days with Julian & Little Bunny, by Papa, a tender and funny extract from Hawthorne's notebooks, perhaps one of the earliest accounts in literature of a father caring for a young child.
-
-
Skip to Chapter 5: Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny
- By Just me. on 12-25-19
-
Young Goodman Brown
- By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Narrated by: B.J. Harrison
- Length: 40 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
How long would you walk, if the Devil sauntered up to you of an evening, and journeyed alongside of you? Young Goodman Brown is led by the Devil to a midnight ritual, where fire, blood, and water change his opinions of the nature of humanity.
-
-
Perfect
- By Andrew H. on 09-21-17
-
The Pilgrim's Progress (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: John Bunyan
- Narrated by: Steve West
- Length: 9 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Plagued by spiritual anguish, devout everyman Christian fears his fate in the sinful City of Destruction. He’s told that only by embarking for the Celestial City can he achieve personal salvation. After his wife and children refuse to join him, he sets forth alone into the unknown. Mocked for his faith, tempted at every turn, and heartened by fellow pilgrims, Christian’s winding journey toward grace unfolds. But as he reaches Mount Zion, his family chooses to follow the same treacherous path, hoping to join Christian in the shining light.
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-
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By: John Bunyan
-
The Birthmark
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- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 47 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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-
-
The Birthmark
- By Deedra on 09-16-15
-
The Minister's Black Veil
- By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Narrated by: Walter Zimmerman
- Length: 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Minister's Black Veil was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir. It later appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by Hawthorne published in 1837. Hawthorne's inspiration for this story may have been a true event. A clergyman named Joseph Moody of York, Maine, nicknamed "Handkerchief Moody", accidentally killed a friend when he was a young man and wore a black veil from the man's funeral until his own death.
-
-
One of those "why do I have to read this" books
- By Jack on 07-14-14
-
The Celestial Railroad
- By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Narrated by: Andrea Giordani
- Length: 44 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this allegorical short story, Nathaniel Hawthorne parodies John Bunyan’s famous book, The Pilgrim’s Progress. Rather than take the long and arduous road to the Celestial City, Hawthorne’s narrator hops on the express train to paradise. As he gets closer to his destination, however, he realizes that the clever-talking Mr. Smooth-It-Away may not be who he claims. While a caricature of Bunyan’s original tale, “The Celestial Railroad” ultimately drives home a similar point: there is no easy road to Heaven, so tough it out on the straight and narrow.
-
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Overall
-
Performance
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Story
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4th July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, a town synonymous with the earlier Salem Witch Trials. It was instrumental in Hawthorne’s later use of American Gothic and dark romanticism in his writing. Hawthorne’s short stories were first published in magazines but in 1837 were collected and published as ‘Twice-Told Tales’. A steady literary career still did not come his way and so he worked in a good position at Salem’s port and married the love of his life, Sophia Peabody. They moved to live in ‘The Old Manse’ at Concord, Massachusetts.
-
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-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On July 28, 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife left their house in Western Massachusetts to visit relatives. Hawthorne and his 5-year-old son Julian stayed behind. How father and son got on together for the next three weeks is the subject of Twenty Days with Julian & Little Bunny, by Papa, a tender and funny extract from Hawthorne's notebooks, perhaps one of the earliest accounts in literature of a father caring for a young child.
-
-
Skip to Chapter 5: Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny
- By Just me. on 12-25-19
-
The Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection
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-
Overall
-
Performance
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Complete with seven short stories, this is the definitive anthology for Nathaniel Hawthorne fans. Hawthorne’s dark romanticism and cultural commentary made him a staple of 19th-century American literature. Dive into the works that made him famous, such as the chilling “Young Goodman Brown”. Hawthorne delved deep into the human soul with his work, and now you can delve deep into his soul with this collection.

-
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- Length: 20 hrs and 53 mins
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Overall
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Performance
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This Nathaniel Hawthorne Collection includes Nathaniel Hawthorne's most notable works: The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, and The Birthmark. Get your copy today!
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Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
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-
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- Length: 18 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Many of the tales collected in "Mosses from an Old Manse" are allegories and, typical of Hawthorne, focus on the negative side of human nature. Hawthorne's friend Herman Melville noted this aspect in his review about Hawthorne and his "Mosses": "This black conceit pervades him through and through. You may be witched by his sunlight, transported by the bright gildings in the skies he builds over you; but there is the blackness of darkness beyond."
-
-
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Nathaniel Hawthorne
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Overall
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Performance
-
Story
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4th July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, a town synonymous with the earlier Salem Witch Trials. It was instrumental in Hawthorne’s later use of American Gothic and dark romanticism in his writing. Hawthorne’s short stories were first published in magazines but in 1837 were collected and published as ‘Twice-Told Tales’. A steady literary career still did not come his way and so he worked in a good position at Salem’s port and married the love of his life, Sophia Peabody. They moved to live in ‘The Old Manse’ at Concord, Massachusetts.
What listeners say about Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Short Stories
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- Lorraine
- 12-10-24
Bad reading
The reading fluency of the performance was awful. No flow. Chopped. Great stories ruined. Not recommended.
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Overall
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- Jo
- 10-09-12
disappointed
What would have made Nathaniel Hawthorne: The Short Stories better?
The stories are great but the audio skips in several places.
Who was your favorite character and why?
Reading was good
Any additional comments?
the cover shows Roger Malvin's Burial it is not on the library entry purchased. The Minister's Veil, Young and Goodman Brown are on the download but not listed on the cover.
VERY DISAPPOINTED
There is also no introduction or title for each of the short stories.
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4 people found this helpful