Audiobooks by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Enter the shadowy heart of 17th-century New England in Young Goodman Brown, a haunting allegory by Nathaniel Hawthorne. First published in 1835, this iconic short story follows a young Puritan man who sets out on a mysterious nighttime journey into the forest—only to confront the darkness within his community, his faith, and ultimately, himself. As Goodman Brown ventures deeper into the woods, he encounters symbols of evil, temptation, and hypocrisy. The line between reality and nightmare blurs, leading to a shattering revelation that will forever alter his perception of those he once trusted. With themes of morality, guilt, religious hypocrisy, and psychological unraveling, Hawthorne’s tale endures as a masterclass in American gothic fiction and early psychological horror. This atmospheric audiobook captures every nuance of Hawthorne’s prose—from its rich symbolism to its creeping dread. Whether you're a lover of classic American literature, dark allegory, or stories of inner torment, Young Goodman Brown will resonate long after the final word.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author), Dominic Vargas (Narrator)

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[French] - La lettre écarlate

Le roman de Hawthorne nous plonge dans le cœur de la société puritaine du XVIIe siècle, une communauté où la morale religieuse règne en maître et où toute déviation est sévèrement punie. Hester Prynne, en étant condamnée à porter la lettre écarlate, devient l'incarnation du péché et de la honte. Cette lettre, symbole visible de sa transgression, la marque à vie et l'exclut de la communauté. Au-delà de la simple histoire d'adultère, La Lettre Écarlate explore plusieurs thèmes majeurs : L'hypocrisie de la société puritaine : Sous l'apparence d'une communauté vertueuse, les habitants de Boston se révèlent cruels et intolérants. Ils condamnent Hester avec ferveur, tout en cachant leurs propres faiblesses et péchés. La culpabilité et la rédemption : Les personnages principaux, Hester, Dimmesdale et Chillingworth, sont tous rongés par la culpabilité. Chacun à sa manière, ils cherchent une forme de rédemption, mais les chemins qu'ils empruntent sont tortueux et douloureux. La nature du péché et du pardon : Hawthorne interroge la notion de péché et les limites du pardon. Est-il possible de se racheter après avoir commis une faute grave ? La société puritaine offre une réponse sans appel, mais Hester et Dimmesdale nous montrent que la rédemption peut parfois venir de l'intérieur. Le rôle de la femme dans la société : Hester Prynne est une figure emblématique de la femme révoltée contre les normes sociales. Malgré la souffrance qu'elle endure, elle développe une force intérieure remarquable et devient une figure maternelle et protectrice pour sa fille Pearl.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author), Julien Lafargue (Narrator)

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The Christmas Banquet

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on 4th July 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, a town synonymous with the earlier Salem Witch Trials. It was instrumental in Hawthorne’s later use of American Gothic and dark romanticism in his writing.He was a mere four years old when his father died and his mother took him and his two sisters to live with her family and then on to their own home in Raymond, Maine. The young Hawthorne had a passion for fiction and poetry and voraciously read the works of Ann Radcliffe, Henry Fielding and Lord Byron. He was sent to college at his maternal uncle’s insistence. During these years he met and befriended Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future U S president Franklin Pierce. These friendships were lifelong and to have a crucial impact on his writings and career. At college Hawthorne had made attempts at writing short stories and essays but without opportunities to publish. It was only in 1828 that he finally published his novel ‘Franshawe’ to little success and so he began work as editor for the American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge. Hawthorne’s short stories were first published in magazines but in 1837 were collected and published as ‘Twice-Told Tales’. A steady literary career still did not come his way and so he worked in a good position at Salem’s port and married the love of his life Sophia Peabody. They moved to live in ‘The Old Manse’ at Concord, Massachusetts. Finally. in 1850 came spectacular literary and commercial success with ‘The Scarlet Letter’ followed by ‘The House of the Seven Gables’ the following year. In 1852, Hawthorne published a biography of presidential candidate Franklin Pierce. After Pierce’s victory he was appointed consul in Liverpool, a position that offered prestige, money and fame. At the end of this appointment he returned several times to Europe before settling in Massachusetts and resuming writing and publication.During the early 1860’s his health declined and on 19th May 1864 during a trip to Plymouth, New Hampshire. He was 59 and was buried in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author), Michael Lyons (Narrator)

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3 Stories - Mind Playing Tricks

There is something about the number 3. The Ancient Greeks believed 3 was the perfect number, and in China 3 has always been a lucky number, and they know a thing or two. Most religions also have 3 this and 3 that and, of course, in these more modern times, three’s a crowd may be too many, except when it’s a ménage à trois. It seems good things usually come in threes.Whatever history and culture says WE think 3, a hat-trick of stories, is a great number to explore themes and literary avenues that classic authors were so adept at creating.From their pens to your your ears.01 - 3 Stories - Mind Playing Tricks02 - Was It An Illusion. A Parson's Story by Amelia Edwards03 - Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne04 - Whittington's Cat by Lady Eleanor Smith

Amelia B. Edwards, Lady Eleanor Smith, Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author), Christopher Ragland, Elliot Fitzpatrick (Narrator)

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Essence of Evil – Tales of Monsters, Demons, Devils, Vampires & More

Pure Evil is one of our greatest fears. No appeals to reason, no pleas of mercy or forgiveness will have the slightest impact on the mind of the oppressor. These Evil entities, surely we can’t name them as beings, include all sorts of monsters, demons, devils, vampires and other assorted ghouls that care little about the fate of you or I.1 - Essence of Evil - Tales of Monsters, Demons, Devils, Vampires & more2 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft3 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft4 - A Pastoral Horror by Arthur Conan Doyle5 - The Devil In Manuscript by Nathaniel Hawthorne6 - Lucifer by Anatole France7 - The Devil's Wager by William Makepeace Thackeray8 - The Devil and Tom Walker by Washington Irving9 - From the Memoirs of Satan by Wilhelm Hauff10 - The Devil's Mother-in-Law by Fernan Caballeron11 - The Devils Horse by Ion Luca Caragiale12 - The Demon Pope by Richard Garnett13 - Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book by M R James14 - Belphagor by Niccolo Machiavelli15 - Mark of the Beast by Rudyard Kipling16 - A Story of a Weir-Wolf by Catherine Crowe17 - The She-Wolf by Saki18 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 1 by John William Polidori19 - The Vampyre. A Tale - Part 2 by John William Polidori20 - Vampirismus or Aurelia by E T A Hoffman21 - Vampirismus or Aurelia by E T A Hoffman (2)21 - The Vampire by Jan Neruda22 - The Black Vampyre by Uriah Derick D'Arcy23 - The Vampire of Croglin Grange by Augustus Hare24 - Alymer Vance & The Vampire by Alice and Claude Askew25 - The Last of the Vampires by Phil Robinson26 - The Vampire Maid by Hume Nisbet27 - For the Blood is the Life by F Marion Crawford28 - The Sumach by Ulric Daubeny29 - What Was It by Fitz James O'Brien30 - The Thing in the Forest by Bernard Capes31 - The Lizard by C J Cutcliffe Hyne32 - Eyes For the Blind by Frederick Cowles33 - The Lost Reflection by E T A Hoffman34 - Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter by Sheridan Le Fanu35 - Count Magnus by M R James36 - Gabriel-Ernest by Saki37 - Carnacki, The Ghost Finder - No 1 - The Gateway of the Monster by William Hope Hodgson38 - Mrs Amworth by E F Benson39 - Olalla - Part 1 by Robert Louis Stevenson40 - Olalla - Part 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson41 - Tamar by Lady Eleanor Smith42 - The Generous Gambler by Charles Baudelaire43 - The Lame Priest by Susan Morrow writing as S Carleton44 - St Johns Eve by Nikolai Gogol45 - The Sea Raiders by H G Wells46 - How Much Land Does A Man Need by Leo Tolstoy47 - The Horror of Abbot's Grange by Frederick Cowles48 - The Tale Of The Stairs by Hristo Smirenski49 - The Room in the Tower by E F Benson50 - Tarnhelm or The Death of My Uncle Robert by Hugh Walpole51 - When The World Screamed by Arthur Conan Doyle52 - Wake Not the Dead - Part 1 by Ernst Raupach53 - Wake Not the Dead - Part 2 by Ernst Raupach

Alice and Claude Askew, Anatole France, Augustus Hare, Bernard Capes, C J Cutcliffe Hyne, Catherine Crowe, Charles Baudelaire, E F Benson, E T A Hoffman, Ernst Raupach, F Marion Crawford, Fernan Caballeron, Fitz James O'Brien, Frederick Cowles, H.G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Hristo Smirenski, Hugh Walpole, Hume Nisbet, Ion Luca Caragiale, Jan Neruda, John William Polidori, Lady Eleanor Smith, Leo Tolstoy, M.R. James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Niccolo Machiavelli, Nikolai Gogol, Phil Robinson, Richard Garnett, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rudyard Kipling, Saki, Sheridan Le Fanu, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, Susan Morrow writing as S Carleton, Ulric Daubeny, Uriah Derick D'Arcy, Washington Irving, Wilhelm Hauff, William Hope Hodgson, William Thackeray (Author), Elliot Fitzpatrick, Garrick Hogan, Robbie McNab (Narrator)

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Stories Exploring Morality

The concept of right and wrong, of good and bad, is taught to us from childhood. It’s a guiding principle as we journey through the decades of life. Easy to keep to? Sometimes it’s easier not to. Authors of the talent of Franz Kafka, F Scott Fitzgerald, Robert Louis Stevenson and many others create characters and circumstances that test their capacity for morality to the limit.1 - Stories Exploring Morality - An Introduction2 - The Dead - Part 1 by James Joyce3 - The Dead - Part 2 by James Joyce4 - In the Penal Colony by Franz Kafka5 - Young Goodman Brown by Nathaniel Hawthorne6 - Markheim by Robert Louis Stevenson7 - Benediction by F Scott Fitzgerald8 - The Birthmark by Nathaniel Hawthorne9 - The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant10 - How Much Land Does A Man Need by Leo Tolstoy11 - The Hoodoo by Martha Gruening12 - The Coup de Grace by Ambrose Bierce13 - Rashomon by Ryunosuke Akutagawa14 - A Tale of Negative Gravity by Frank R Stockton15 - Oil of Dog by Ambrose Bierce16 - The Four Fists by F Scott Fitzgerald17 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 1 by Nathaniel Hawthorne18 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 2 by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Ambrose Bierce, F Scott Fitzgerald, Frank R Stockton, Franz Kafka, Guy De Maupassant, James Joyce, Leo Tolstoy, Martha Gruening, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Ryunosuke Akutagawa (Author), David Shaw-Parker, Jim Norton, Warren Keyes (Narrator)

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Writers As The Protagonists – Short Stories

The short story in Literature is a few pages of beginning, middle and end peopled by characters who quickly draw themselves into its arc from the minds of their authors. How these authors, including Herman Melville, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, M R James and Violet Hunt imagine their characters journeys is, of course, illuminating, thought-provoking and classic literature.1 - Stories with The Writer as Protagonist - An Introduction2 - Bobok by Fyodor Dostoyevsky3 - The Devil In Manuscript by Nathaniel Hawthorne4 - Cohen of Trinity by Amy Levy5 - The Art of BookMaking by Washington Irving6 - The Fiddler by Herman Melville7 - The Eyes by Edith Wharton8 - Count Magnus by M R James9 - His Wife's Deceased Sister by Frank R Stockton10 - The House of Cobwebs by George Gissing11 - Room For One by Frederick Cowles12 - Couching at the Door by D K Broster13 - The Vampire Maid by Hume Nisbet14 - Truth is Not Sober by Winifred Holtby15 - The Plutonian Fire by O Henry16 - A Sucessful Rehearsal by Anthony Hope17 - The Memoir by Violet Hunt18 - Warning Whispers by A M Burrage

A.M. Burrage, Amy Levy, Anthony Hope, D.K. Broster, Edith Wharton, Frank R Stockton, Frederick Cowles, Fyodor Dostoyevsky, George Gissing, Herman Melville, Hume Nisbet, M.R. James, Nathaniel Hawthorne, O Henry, Violet Hunt, Washington Irving, Winifred Holtby (Author), Eric Meyers, Mark Rice-Oxley, Vincent Marzello (Narrator)

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Classic Sci-Fi Horror Stories

Science fiction is in many ways positive, uplifting and a vision of where we are headed. But in this volume our classic authors including Lovecraft, Wells, Hawthorne and others reveal its darker cousin; Horror. Now these malevolent terrors have made up their minds that blending themselves with Science Fiction might make their impact even more awful and frightening for us to bear.1 - Classic Sci-Fi Stories - An Introduction2 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft3 - The Call of Cthulhu - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft4 - The Crystal Egg by H G Wells5 - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - Part 1 by Robert Louis Stevenson6 - The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde - Part 2 by Robert Louis Stevenson7 - The Operation by Violet Hunt8 - The Blue Laboratory by L T Meade9 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 1 by Nathaniel Hawthorne10 - Rappaccini's Daughter - Part 2 by Nathaniel Hawthorne11 - Moxon's Master by Ambrose Bierce12 - The Voice in the Night by William Hope Hodgson13 - Cool Air by H P Lovecraft14 - Polaris by H P Lovecraft15 - The Color Out of Space by H P Lovecraft16 - Carnivorine by Lucy Hamilton Hooper17 - The Secret of the Scaffold by Auguste Villiers de I'Ísle-Adam18 - The Rats in the Walls by H P Lovecraft19 - A Thousand Deaths by Jack London20 - Re-Animator - Part 1 by H P Lovecraft21 - Re-Animator - Part 2 by H P Lovecraft

Ambrose Bierce, Auguste Villiers de I'Ísle-Adam, H.G. Wells, H.P. Lovecraft, Jack London, L. T. Meade, Lucy Hamilton Hooper, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Robert Louis Stevenson, Violet Hunt, William Hope Hodgson (Author), Christopher Ragland, Eve Karpf, Garrick Hogan (Narrator)