The House of the Seven Gables, with eBook [Audiobook, CD, Unabridged] [Audio CD]

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author), Donada Peters (Narrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 18, 2009

The wealthy Colonel Pyncheon covets the carpenter Mathew Maule's land. A few years later, during the witch hysteria in Salem, Maule is brought before a judge on witchcraft charges and is sentenced to death. Before his execution, Maule curses the Pyncheon family. The Colonel, undaunted, continues to build an extravagant house on Maule's property. After the house is finished, however, the Colonel is found dead, and the property deed is missing. More than 200 years later, we meet the family in its decaying, gabled mansion, still haunted by the presence of dead ancestors: Hepzibah, an elderly gentlewoman fallen on hard times; her ineffectual brother, Clifford; and young Phoebe, a country maiden who cheerfully takes it upon herself to care for her two doddering relations. There's also Holgrave, a free-spirited daguerreotypist, who makes a surprising transformation into conventional respectability. Hawthorne's masterful tale describes the brooding hold of the past over the present, twisting and turning through many generations of a venerable New England family.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was born in Salem, Massachusetts. His father was a sea captain and descendent of John Hathorne, one of the judges in the Salem witchcraft trials of 1692. Nathaniel was educated at Bowdoin College in Maine, where he made friends with Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, who later became a distinguished poet. Hawthorne's first novel, Fanshaw: A Tale, appeared anonymously at his own expense in 1828. The novel was badly written and was received poorly. Disillusioned, Hawthorne did not publish another novel for nearly twenty-five years but continued to write short stories for magazines, and in 1837, he was able to publish a collection of these, which he titled Twice-Told Tales. However, he was unable to support himself with his writing, and he tried his hand at community farming---unsuccessfully. Hawthorne married Sophia Amelia Peabody in 1842, and they moved to Concord, Massachusetts, to settle in the now-famous "Old Manse." It was here that he was surrounded by the leading literary figures of the day, including: Henry David Thoreau, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Margaret Fuller, and Bronson Alcott. He later befriended Herman Melville who dedicated Moby Dick to him. Needing financial security, after having two children, Hawthorne took the position of surveyor for the port of Salem. Three years later, a shift in political parties ended that career for Hawthorne, which granted him the time to complete The Scarlet Letter. It was marginally successful in his time, and it allowed him to continue writing novels and children's books full-time. Hawthorne aspired to become one of the first American authors to explore the hidden motivations of his characters---to reveal their passions, emotions, and anxieties, exposing "the truth of the human heart." Hawthorne was appointed consul in Liverpool, England, by his old friend, Franklin Pierce, who had become president in 1853. The Hawthornes lived in Europe for the next seven years, where he wrote his final complete work of fiction, The Marble Faun. Hawthorne died in his sleep in 1864 in Plymouth, New Hampshire, while on a trip to the mountains. Donada Peters is one of AudioFile magazine's Golden Voices and has won over a dozen AudioFile Earphones Awards. As a narrator, Donada has recorded more than 500 titles. "Peters keeps the listener waiting to hear what happens next." ---AudioFile

Product Details

• Audio CD
• Publisher: Tantor Media; Unabridged,Library - Unabridged CD edition (May 18, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 140014079X
• ISBN-13: 978-1400140794
• Product Dimensions: 6.3 x 6.8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,714,045 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)