The Nathaniel Hawthorne Audio Collection

By: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Narrated by: James Naughton

On July 28, 1851, Nathaniel Hawthorne's wife left their house in Western Massachusetts to visit relatives. Hawthorne and his 5-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."

©1996 HarperCollins Publishers

Critic reviews

"Auster, the critically acclaimed author, is also a wonderful reader. No dialects and voices - instead, he reads his own introduction and 'Twenty Days' with his trademark seductive voice and precise control. James Naughton does as well with the Hawthorne short stories. His careful pace and full baritone offer comfort during the stories’ menacing passages. This is a class act." (AudioFile)

A valuable group of Hawthorne’s short stories

Would that there were greater appreciation in the modern reader for the short story. Hawthorne is master of his craft. These stories are well worth reading again, and again.

Skip to Chapter 5: Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny

It is so frustrating that Audible does not label chapters. But listening to Twenty Days with Julian and Little Bunny was like stumbling onto gold. Anyone who has ever observed a five year old and loved them will adore this charming account of a father taking care of his little one while “Mama” is away. It captures such a precious stage of human development so charmingly — and reminds you that although times have changed, parenting hasn’t (was up until 3:00 am with Herman Melville, but back up at 6:00 am to take care of “the old gentleman.”).