Matt's Reviews > Twice-Told Tales
Twice-Told Tales
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3.5 stars (rounded up to 4) for Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
This is a collection of short stories that I read for a Classic book BINGO challenge I’m working on this year.
It was Hawthorne’s first published work, and it was good. Edgar Allan Poe named Hawthorne as the father of an “entirely new genre in American literature, … called the short story” in an essay in Graham’s magazine when Twice-Told Tales was released in an expanded edition in 1842. In the afterword for this edition, Hawthorne received praise from his contemporary Longfellow and later from Poe and Henry James - not too shabby.
Short stories are generally hit or miss for me - most of these are great, but a few missed the mark.
Looking back at the contents, some of the more memorable stories for me are:
The Prophetic Pictures
Fancy’s Show Box
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
The 4 Legends of Province House stories - kind of the heart of the collection- right in the middle
The Sister Years
The Seven Vagabonds
and Peter Goldthwaite’s Treasure
There is a wide range of themes here - primarily fantasy, ghost stories, morality, life and death, and social commentary.
The quality of Hawthorne’s writing is superb. He wrote vivid descriptions and he pulled me right in as a reader to most of the stories. I read most of them in about 20-30 minutes each.
I recommend this short story collection for someone looking for quality/solid writing. I plan to revisit these stories again some day.
This is a collection of short stories that I read for a Classic book BINGO challenge I’m working on this year.
It was Hawthorne’s first published work, and it was good. Edgar Allan Poe named Hawthorne as the father of an “entirely new genre in American literature, … called the short story” in an essay in Graham’s magazine when Twice-Told Tales was released in an expanded edition in 1842. In the afterword for this edition, Hawthorne received praise from his contemporary Longfellow and later from Poe and Henry James - not too shabby.
Short stories are generally hit or miss for me - most of these are great, but a few missed the mark.
Looking back at the contents, some of the more memorable stories for me are:
The Prophetic Pictures
Fancy’s Show Box
Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment
The 4 Legends of Province House stories - kind of the heart of the collection- right in the middle
The Sister Years
The Seven Vagabonds
and Peter Goldthwaite’s Treasure
There is a wide range of themes here - primarily fantasy, ghost stories, morality, life and death, and social commentary.
The quality of Hawthorne’s writing is superb. He wrote vivid descriptions and he pulled me right in as a reader to most of the stories. I read most of them in about 20-30 minutes each.
I recommend this short story collection for someone looking for quality/solid writing. I plan to revisit these stories again some day.
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Reading Progress
July 8, 2017
– Shelved
July 8, 2017
– Shelved as:
to-read
September 4, 2021
–
Started Reading
September 8, 2021
–
10.45%
"I’ve read 2 of the short stories so far. Very interesting although kind of dark and depressing."
page
35
October 11, 2021
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 6, 2021
– Shelved as:
to-read
November 7, 2021
–
26.87%
"I’m back to this short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne for my Classic BINGO challenge I’m doing this year.
Just finished The Gentle Boy which I didn’t connect with at all.
Also just finished Mr. Higginbotham’s Catastrophe and what a great story it was! I love foreshadowing as a plot device and characters being in the right place at the right time."
page
90
Just finished The Gentle Boy which I didn’t connect with at all.
Also just finished Mr. Higginbotham’s Catastrophe and what a great story it was! I love foreshadowing as a plot device and characters being in the right place at the right time."
November 7, 2021
–
31.64%
"The Great Carbuncle was another interesting short story. Selflessness, personal motivations, and greed are all themes here.
I almost put this down after not liking The Gentle Boy. Now I’m glad I didn’t."
page
106
I almost put this down after not liking The Gentle Boy. Now I’m glad I didn’t."
November 9, 2021
–
35.82%
"Just finished another very interesting story.
The Prophetic Pictures was a great short story. I wonder if Oscar Wilde used it as inspiration for The Portrait of Dorian Gray.
They haunted his pictorial fancy, not as mockeries of life, nor pale goblins of the dead, but in the guise of portraits, each with the unalterable expression which his magic had evoked from the caverns of the soul."
page
120
The Prophetic Pictures was a great short story. I wonder if Oscar Wilde used it as inspiration for The Portrait of Dorian Gray.
They haunted his pictorial fancy, not as mockeries of life, nor pale goblins of the dead, but in the guise of portraits, each with the unalterable expression which his magic had evoked from the caverns of the soul."
November 10, 2021
–
37.61%
"David Swan was a very short fantasy story in this collection- I didn’t get much out of it.
On to the next one - The Hollow of the Three Hills."
page
126
On to the next one - The Hollow of the Three Hills."
November 11, 2021
–
45.07%
"Three more stories finished:
The Hollow of the Three Hills, Fancy’s Show Box, and Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.
The first wasn’t very memorable, the 2nd was a strong lesson in morality that every sin will be seen on judgment day, and the third was a fountain of youth story - youth and life is fleeting - enjoy it while it lasts.
Really enjoying the wide variety of ideas and themes here."
page
151
The Hollow of the Three Hills, Fancy’s Show Box, and Dr. Heidegger’s Experiment.
The first wasn’t very memorable, the 2nd was a strong lesson in morality that every sin will be seen on judgment day, and the third was a fountain of youth story - youth and life is fleeting - enjoy it while it lasts.
Really enjoying the wide variety of ideas and themes here."
November 13, 2021
–
53.43%
"Currently reading through the Legends of the Province House stories. This collection of short stories has been great - very well written."
page
179
November 15, 2021
–
60.9%
"Just finished the story Old Esther Dudley which is the fourth and last of the Legend of the Province House stories.
This particular story didn’t hold my interest very well.
On to the next one in the collection - The Village Uncle"
page
204
This particular story didn’t hold my interest very well.
On to the next one in the collection - The Village Uncle"
November 17, 2021
–
70.45%
"Finished 2 more stories this morning - The Wedding Knell and The Ambitious Guest.
Planning to finish Twice Told Tales by this weekend. Kind of slow and concentrated reading but it has been great. Probably heading toward 4 stars on this one."
page
236
Planning to finish Twice Told Tales by this weekend. Kind of slow and concentrated reading but it has been great. Probably heading toward 4 stars on this one."
November 18, 2021
–
75.52%
"2 more stories completed this morning - The Sister Years and the White Old Maid."
page
253
November 19, 2021
–
80.9%
"Just finished the story The Seven Vagabonds. It is an interesting story about finding oneself and a realization of changes in society."
page
271
November 20, 2021
– Shelved as:
2021-classic-bingo-completed
November 20, 2021
–
Finished Reading
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