Showing results by author "Nathaniel Hawthorne" in All Categories

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.

When you have a past filled with regret it may not be a good idea to find someone to help you dwell on the pain you've caused others. Hawthorne places this scenario in an out-of-the-way location where a woman is allowed to see the painful result of her actions. This journey comes with an awful price - and awful company. A classic story narrated by Glenn Hascall.

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

A treasure chest of the most popular classic crime stories from the 19th century. •The Purloined Letter by Edgar Allan Poe •A Terribly Strange Bed by Wilkie Collins •Murder under the Microscope by William Russell •The Three Strangers by Thomas Hardy •The Murders in the Rue Morgue by Edgar Allan Poe •The Mystery of Marie Roget by Edgar Allan Poe •Mr. Higginbotham’s Catastrophe by 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 anthology of unabridged short stories represents some of the most significant works from the most influential American authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Includes the following: "Rip Van Winkle" by Washington Irving, "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe, "Mermaids" by Louisa May Alcott, "The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County" by Mark Twain, "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce, and "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry.

These treasured stories from the most influential authors of the 19th and early 20th centuries are selected for their literary importance as well as their dramatic, oral qualities. Listen to these 10 unabridged classics by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Herman Melville, O. Henry, and Willa Cather.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s magnum opus exploring the themes of legalism, sin and guilt.

"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."

Scarlet is the colour of sin, and the letter ’A’ stands for ’Adultery’. In the 1600s, in Boston, Massachusetts, love was allowed only between a husband and a wife. A child born outside marriage was a child of sin. Hester Prynne must wear the scarlet letter on her dress for the rest of her life. How can she ever escape from this public shame? What will happen to her child, growing up in the shadow of the scarlet letter? The future holds no joy for Hester Prynne.

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.

"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 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.