The Nathaniel Hawthorne Audio Collection

Unabridged (Audiobook)

Written by:

Nathaniel Hawthorne, Paul Auster

Narrator:

James Naughton, Paul Auster

Length:

5 hours 4 minutes

Summary:

On July 28, 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife left their house in Western Massachusetts to visit relatives. Hawthorne and his five-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.

Each day starts early and will be given over to swimming and skipping stones, berry picking and subduing armies of thistles. At one point Mr. Herman Melville comes over to enjoy a late night discussion of eternity over cigars.

With an introduction by Paul Auster, this delightful true-life story by a great American writer emerges from obscurity to shine a delightful light upon family life -- then and now. The collection also includes Hawthorne's short stories "Young Goodman Brown," "The Minister's Black Veil" and "Rappaccini's Daughter."

Ratings:

Book (6)

Narration

Publisher:

HarperCollins Publishers

Date:

May 2003

Genres:

Biographies > Literary
Biographies

Customer Reviews
Customers Also Liked

Meredith

After experiencing Hawthorne's writing for the first time in an audiobook version of "The Scarlet Letter", I found that this collection was a really interesting look into Hawthorne's inner and outer life. Yes, "Twenty Days" is totally different in tone and style from the three short stories, but I liked having that variety -- it paints a fuller picture of Hawthorne's work. The narration is just OK, in my opinion, and "Young Goodman Brown" and "The Minister's Black Veil" were a bit dire and moralistic for my taste. Nevertheless, the writing is excellent and "Rappaccini's Daughter" certainly tells a creepy, suspenseful story. And "Twenty Days" is a great look into Hawthorne's experience of fatherhood. This set probably wouldn't be the best *introduction* to Hawthorne, but I'd definitely recommend it to anyone who has read and enjoyed his other work.

Joan Oesper

This gets a mixed review because the personal journal of Hawthorne's time with his son is so completely different from the rather gloomy stories that make up the rest of the set. "Twenty Days with Julian & Little Bunny" was delightful! His account of the 3 weeks he cared for his five year old son alone was tender and heartwarming.