Twice-Told Tales

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 489K words
Chapters: 49

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel HawthorneAuthor: Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Apr 1, 1996

Editor's review

Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales is one of the representative collections of nineteenth-century American short fiction, gathering short works the author published early in his career in various periodicals. Most of these stories draw on New England historical legends and daily life; the writing combines moral speculation against a Puritan background with delicate psychological portrayal and symbolism. For Chinese readers, its value lies not only in its place in literary history but also in the glimpse it offers of the themes and techniques that would take shape in Hawthorne's later novels, such as the tension between sin and redemption, solitude and community, tradition and the individual. The English originals are short, and each piece stands alone, making the collection suitable as introductory material for encountering nineteenth-century American prose style. The Project Gutenberg electronic edition is easy to search and carry, suited to reading piece by piece in fragmented time such as commuting or before bed, and can also serve as supplementary text for literature courses or intensive English reading, to be revisited with annotations and background materials.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Literature lovers who want to understand the nineteenth-century American short story tradition
English majors or students taking American and British literature courses who need original-text reading materials
Readers who enjoy Puritan settings, allegorical narrative, and symbolism
Office workers who want to use fragmented time to read short English classics

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction expecting fast-paced plots and strong dramatic conflict
Beginners with weak English reading foundations who cannot yet handle nineteenth-century literary language smoothly
Readers with little interest in religious and moral allegorical narrative

Reading tips

Start with shorter pieces with complete plots, then gradually expand to stories with heavier themes.
After each piece, note in two or three sentences the story's core images and moral propositions, to help connect the collection's themes.
When you encounter passages whose historical or religious background is unclear, consult annotations or background materials first; you need not struggle over every word.
If using it for coursework, read pieces in groups by date of writing or theme to observe changes in Hawthorne's technique.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

What English level is this book roughly suited to?

The originals are in nineteenth-century American literary English, with rather long sentence structures and vocabulary colored by the era; the overall difficulty is higher than contemporary popular reading. It suits readers with college English reading ability at CET-4 or above who are willing to use annotations; beginners can start with shorter pieces with clear plots.

Do these stories have a continuous plot?

No. This is a collection of Hawthorne's early short stories, each standing alone, with themes and characters not connected. Readers can start with any piece, need not read in order, and can also skip around and reread selectively.

How is the electronic edition best read?

Project Gutenberg provides public-domain electronic text that can be opened on a phone, tablet, or e-reader. It is advisable to use reading software that supports word lookup and annotation, making it easy to check nineteenth-century vocabulary and allusions at any time and to take reading notes by piece.

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About the author

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864 Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was an American novelist known for his engagement with Puritan tradition and moral allegory. He wrote about sin, guilt, confession, and social prejudice in a restrained style with vivid imagery, often using historical settings and legendary tales to reveal the subtleties of human nature. The collection here holds 98 of his works, including the frequently translated novel The Scarlet Letter, the short-story collection Twice-Told Tales, and children's books drawn from myth and legend such as A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys, Tanglewood Tales, The Gorgon's Head, and The Three Golden Apples, showing his dual interest in New England history and classical myth. His writing has had a lasting influence on American literature's treatment of conscience and identity. Publicly available details of his life are limited, so they are not elaborated here.