Showing results by author "Nathaniel Hawthorne" in All Categories

The setting is before the American Revolution when Robin, a youth arrives in Boston seeking his kinsman, Major Molineux, who is an official in the British Colonial government and has promised him work. Yet no one in town tells him where the major is and he begins to hear some strange stories and finally meets his kinsman under very unusual circumstances.

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.

The Great Stone Face and Other Tales presents four haunting, unforgettable pieces, all set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. One of the giants of American literature, Hawthorne lived in Salem, Massachusetts, and spent his spare time roaming the crooked streets, immersing himself in the legends and superstitions that he learned from other people. Weaving these tales into his own literary style, Hawthorne wrote many remarkable short stories and essays that focused on his favorite themes of spiritual insight, guilt, and the consequences of sin.

A veritable library of listening in this splendid collection of American Short Stories! This boxed set includes all stories from Volumes 1, 2 and 3.

Basil Rathbone reads Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story about the minister of a small town who suddenly and without explanation starts to wear a black veil.

“The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a masterful tale of morality, sin, and courage. Set in Puritan New England, the story revolves around Hester Prynne, a young woman who bears a child out of wedlock. The scarlet letter “A” embroidered on her gown serves as her punishment for adultery. But Hester is more than just a sinner — she possesses unyielding character and compassion. Her love for the enigmatic minister, Arthur Dimmesdale, is entwined with their shared guilt.

This collection includes five of the greatest stories of American classic horror. The richest of language is used to create extraordinary atmosphere - gloom, darkness, solitude, despair - and the relentless feeling of impending doom. Includes: "The Oval Portrait", by Edgar Allan Poe; "Ethan Brand", by Nathaniel Hawthorne; "The Yellow Sign", by Robert W. Chambers; "The Upper Berth", by F. Marion Crawford; and "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge", by Ambrose Bierce.

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. The Birthmark is a classic tale from Hawthorne’s pen. Georgina has a small red birthmark on her cheek. Her husband, a brilliant scientist and philosopher, becomes obsessed with what he thinks is this blemish on her beauty.

This is a collection of stories about interesting, unusual, bright human characters and destinies. Contents: Gusev by Anton Chekhov ; Boule de Suif by Guy De Maupassant ; Alyosha the Pot by Leo Tolstoy ; Mateo Falcone by Prosper Mérimée ; Little Brother by Mary E. Mann ; Bartleby, The Scrivener by Herman Melville ; The Lightning-Rod Man by Herman Melville ; The Ambitious Guest by Nathaniel Hawthorne ; The Darling by Anton Chekhov ; A Simple Heart by Gustave Flaubert

The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1832, is a grim tale about Mr Hooper, a preacher, who starts wearing a veil over the upper part of his face. He first wore the veil while delivering a sermon on secret sin, and never removes it, despite the dismay of the congregation or the pleas of his fiancée, who leaves him. Mr Hooper develops into Father Hooper, a figure who makes converts of people who imagine themselves to also hide behind the veil.

Hawthorne approached the Romantic notion of the ability of science to destroy art (or beauty) in the form of fictive "horror stories" of biological research out of control. This story is the best of that group. A devoted scientist marries a beautiful woman with a single physical flaw: a birthmark on her face. Aylmer becomes obsessed with the imperfection and his attempts to remove it via his scientific skills, thus rendering his bride perfect.

Obsessive, reclusive, artistically inclined watchmaker Owen Worland spends his entire life trying to capture natural beauty in his scientific inventions. But he is frequently discouraged and set back by the interference of the townspeople, his former master, and the lovely Annie Hovenden. Will Owen ever fulfill his life's goal and create the ultimate perfection?

In the mid 1800s, Pyncheon is still a revered namesake in Salem, with the gloomy Pyncheon mansion serving as a stark reminder of the family's upper class history. However, the house - unique for its seven gables - has a dark and deadly past. Its current occupant, the older and unmarried Hepzibah Pyncheon, is all but destitute and unwilling to accept any assistance from her wealthy but unrelenting cousin, Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon.

From the author of The Scarlet Letter comes a landmark of American literature, an embodiment of the greed which can compel people to treacherous actions. Hawthorne's The House of the Seven Gables is a study of guilt and renewal from generation to generation. At the time of the Salem witch trials, the patriarch of the Pyncheon family finds himself so covetous of his neighbor’s property that he is led to sinister deeds, turning the community against his neighbor who is ultimately hanged for witchcraft. Though his plot to acquire the land is successful, the dying man's curse on the Pyncheon family comes true generation upon generation. That is, until six generations later when the long-hidden truth is revealed…. This novel is part of Brilliance Audio's extensive Classic Collection, bringing you timeless masterpieces that you and your family are sure to love.

The novel traces the impact of a single, scandalous act on the lives of three community members: the tragic, defiant Hester Prynne, the tortured Reverend Dimmesdale and the vengeful Chillingsworth. A philosophical exploration of man's struggle with guilt, sin, and pride, Hawthorne's masterpiece remains a cornerstone of American literature.

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!

The relentless curse on the Pynchon family of Salem, Massachusetts, which has inhabited the House of the Seven Gables for generations, is resurrected two centuries later by their descendants - with surprising results.

La apasionante historia de una mujer condenada a llevar sobre su ropa una A escarlata, por haber cometido adulterio, no solo era un agudo analisis de la sociedad seudo-moralista en que vivia el autor sino ademas una obra de argumento interesante, con un profundo retrato de personajes y cuya grandeza nadie ha discutido.

With Nathaniel Hawthorn's "The Maypole of Merrymount", A Magical Reality Chautauqua Show records a pivotal incident in our earliest American history, with legend and lore casting significant light on our origins. Hawthorne's craft allows us to be present for the birth pangs of our wildly adventurous American enterprise.

Dr. Heidegger invites four elderly friends to his macabre study. He claims to his friends to have found liquid from the fountain of youth! The friends are skeptical, but choose to drink the liquid anyway.