Showing results by author "Nathaniel Hawthorne" in All Categories

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.

Daffydowndilly was under the care of Mr. Toil, who was harsh and unyielding. When the young boy left school to gain relief from the harsh treatment, he met a traveler who helped the lad follow his new path after running away. The bad news: every new person the two travelers met was related to Mr. Toil. In the end, Daffydowndilly made what had become an easy choice.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's retelling of the exploits of Hercules. In search of three golden apples, Hercules encounters the Old Man of the Sea, a six-legged man creature and the mighty giant, Atlas. For all ages, not too hard for younger listeners, and not too simple for older ones. From A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls.

A fascinating collection of intriguing and unusual classic murder stories by some of the masters of mystery and crime writing.

Before there was 'mall watching' there was Nathaniel Hawthorne. Watching a poor apple seller at the local railroad allows the author to share how he became connected to the old man and what he learned from him. There is no indication that the author actually spoke to the man, but you may just leave empathizing with a man observed.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's retelling of the story of King Midas, who thought he loved gold more than anything! For all ages - not too hard for younger listeners, and not too simple for older ones. From A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's retelling of the story of Perseus and the Gorgon, Medusa - the lady with snakes for hair - whose gaze will turn you to stone. For all ages, not too hard for younger listeners, and not too simple for older ones.

In 1642, a pregnant Hester Prynne is found guilty of adultery, shunned by her neighbors, and forced to wear a scarlet letter 'A' on her dress. Meanwhile, Hester's husband - long thought to be lost at sea - has returned to Boston under the assumed name 'Roger Chillingworth' and plots to uncover her lover's identity. After her daughter Pearl is born, Hester is frequently visited by both Reverend Dimmesdale and Chillingworth, but always refuses to name her lover.

A young couple, David and Esther, either witnessed, or dreamed that they witnessed, the return of long dead inhabitants of a Connecticut town for the period of one hour. “Perhaps they fell asleep together, and, united as their spirits were by close and tender sympathies, the same strange dream might have wrappt them in its shadowy arms.” They “seemed” to see unknown people, who wore clothing that “might have been worn by the great-grandparents of the existing generation.”

Young Giovanni arrives in Padua to discover a lush and mysterious garden on the estate of the mysterious Doctor Rappaccini. Amidst the verdant and exotic foliage, Giovanni finds love in the form of Beatrice - the Doctor's daughter. What deadly secret does the young girl and her father keep hidden?

Failure is often the best path to success. If you don't believe it then you should meet Sir William Phipps who discovered that perseverance would be key to his ultimate success. From a shepherd to one who stood before the king his fictional story will both inspire and amuse. From the mind and pen of Nathaniel Hawthorne

The travelling tobacco pedlar, Dominicus Pike, learns from a traveller he meets on the road, of the terrible murder of Mr. Higginbotham of Kimballton the previous evening. Once the traveller has gone, it puzzles Dominicus that the news could have travelled so quickly from Kimballton which is sixty miles away. Nevertheless, Dominicus passes on the sensational news everywhere he goes and enjoys being the centre of attention.

This is a troubling story of crime, sin, guilt, punishment and expiation, set in the rigid moral climate of 17th-century New England. The young mother of an illegitimate child confronts her Puritan judges. However, it is not so much her harsh sentence, but the cruelties of slowly exposed guilt as her lover is revealed, that hold the reader enthralled all the way to the book's poignant climax.

"Halfway down a by-street of one of our New England towns stands a rusty wooden house, with seven acutely peaked gables, facing towards various points of the compass, and a huge, clustered chimney in the midst. The street is Pyncheon Street; the house is the old Pyncheon House; and an elm-tree, of wide circumference, rooted before the door, is familiar to every town-born child by the title of the Pyncheon Elm."

The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is an American romance written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and is generally considered to be his masterpiece. Set in Puritanical Boston in the 17th century, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery, refuses to name the father, and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explores the issues of grace, legalism, sin, and guilt.

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.

The Marble Faun (1860) was the last of the four major romances by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Writing on the eve of the American Civil War, Hawthorne set his story in a fantastical Italy. The romance mixes elements of a fable, pastoral, gothic novel, and travel guide. The climax comes less than halfway through the story, and Hawthorne intentionally fails to answer many of the reader's questions about the characters and the plot.

King Midas is obsessed with gold: counting it, touching it, imagining it. But when a strange young man grants his wish for a golden touch, things don't go quite as he planned -- particularly for his daughter Marigold. In these selections from classic American author Nathaniel Hawthorne's charming retellings of Greek myths, children meet Midas and another engaging troublemaker, Pandora, and learn lessons about love and forgiveness.

The story takes place in Salem, Massachusetts, part of Puritan New England, which was a common setting for Hawthorne's work. Its theme is one often used by Hawthorne: the conflict between good and evil in human nature and, in particular, the problem of public goodness and private wickedness.

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.