Mosses From An Old Manse
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Read by Bob Neufeld
"Mosses from an Old Manse" is a short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846. The collection includes several previously-published short stories and is named in honor of The Old Manse where Hawthorne and his wife lived for the first three years of their marriage. A second edition was published in 1854, which added "Feathertop," "Passages from a Relinquished Work, and "Sketches from Memory."
Many of the tales collected in "Mosses from an Old Manse" are allegories and, typical of Hawthorne, focus on the negative side of human nature. Hawthorne's friend Herman Melville noted this aspect in his review "Hawthorne and His Mosses": "This black conceit pervades him through and through. You may be witched by his sunlight, transported by the bright gildings in the skies he builds over you; but there is the blackness of darkness beyond; and even his bright gildings but fringe and play upon the edges of thunder-clouds." William Henry Channing reviewed the collection in The Harbinger and noted that its author "had been baptized in the deep waters of Tragedy" and his work was dark with only brief moments of "serene brightness" which was never brighter than "dusky twilight". (Summary by Wikipedia) (18 hr 59 min)
Chapters
The Old Manse - Part 1 | 29:24 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Old Manse - Part 2 | 26:25 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Old Manse - Part 3 | 22:39 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Birthmark | 49:01 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
A Select Party | 39:16 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Young Goodman Brown | 39:20 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Rappaccini's Daughter: Part 1 | 34:26 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Rappaccini's Daughter: Part 2 | 48:37 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Mrs. Bullfrog | 21:12 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Celestial Railroad | 47:15 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Procession Of Life | 37:21 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Feathertop: A Moralized Legend | 55:11 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Egotism; Or, The Bosom Serpent | 39:43 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Drowne's Wooden Image | 34:10 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Roger Malvin's Burial | 56:10 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Artist Of The Beautiful: Part 1 | 34:55 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Artist Of The Beautiful: Part 2 | 33:24 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Fire-Worship | 22:12 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Buds and Bird-Voices | 24:15 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Monsieur du Miroir | 30:51 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Hall of Fantasy | 31:41 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The New Adam and Eve | 48:53 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Christmas Banquet | 52:30 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Intelligence Office | 36:15 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
P.'s Correspondence | 48:33 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Earth's Holocaust | 53:57 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Passages from a Relinquished Work | 38:07 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Sketches From Memory | 38:44 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
The Old Apple-Dealer | 18:38 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
A Virtuoso's Collection | 46:02 | Read by Bob Neufeld |
Reviews
Well read Hawthorne
ListeninginChicago
Bob Neufeld is a perfect fit as reader for this book - it is as if Hawthorne were telling the stories in the first person. The stories are rather dark, but very thought provoking. I particularly enjoyed The Olde Manse, The Celestial Railroad, Fire-Worship and Buds and Bird-Voices.
Enjoyable
A LibriVox Listener
An enjoyable listen. I listened to this mostly while doing my art work or getting ready in the mornings. I found myself laughing, frowning and a few time I was shocked. Certainly worth your time to listen and hear these strange and interesting tales
mixed
Gerard Kelly
the reader was excellent .the stories somewhat variable some rather strange but nonetheless an interesting collection worthy of a listen.
Clive
Hawthorne’s thoughtful, insightful and intriguing stories of the human psyche repay repeated readings (or hearings). Extremely well performed here by Bob Neufeld.