Mosses From An Old Manse


Read by Bob Neufeld

(4.4 stars; 33 reviews)

"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


(4 stars)

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


(4 stars)

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


(4 stars)

the reader was excellent .the stories somewhat variable some rather strange but nonetheless an interesting collection worthy of a listen.


(5 stars)

Hawthorne’s thoughtful, insightful and intriguing stories of the human psyche repay repeated readings (or hearings). Extremely well performed here by Bob Neufeld.