The House of the Seven Gables

By: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Narrated by: Adam Sims

"To inherit a great fortune. To inherit a great misfortune."

These words, from Nathaniel Hawthorne's notebook, neatly encapsulate the theme of The House of the Seven Gables - that of a family whose fortunes are poisoned by its past misdeeds.

The sins of the Pyncheon father are visited upon his children over a period of several generations, until such time as one of his descendants unites with a member of the family he has wronged.

Love conquers hate, and new blood washes away the original crime.

This intriguing and insightful novel truly deserves its significant place in the canon of American literature.

Download the accompanying reference guide.Public Domain (P)2019 Naxos Audiobooks

My favorite book

I absolutely love this story and have read the book 3 times. The narrator of this audio version is perfect and I actually prefer to listen to the book over reading it, because of his narration. Finishing it makes want to go visit The House of the Seven Gables again, too!

Great story - listen on .85

I was enchanted and finished it in a week . Hawthorne can be a bit dense so I found myself rewinding some of the chapters - for a spookier experience listen to it on .85

Painful

I remembered reading Hawthorne in high school and some of his short stories in college. I'd never read this particular novel and was happy to have rediscovered it. However, here I am in chapter eleven with another several hours to go and I'm not sure I can endure much more. It is verbose and this far painfully boring. The early chapters held much promise, but now I find myself bored to tears. Hawthorne is known for his dense, descriptive narratives, but this is so gratuitous it sounds forced. The narrator's performance is a bit monotone but otherwise fine.