Please open https://hotaudiobook.com ONLY on your standard browser Safari, Chrome, Microsoft or Firefox to download full audiobooks of your choice for free.

Title: The Minister's Black Veil

Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Narrator: Walter Zimmerman

Format: Unabridged

Length: 37 mins

Language: English

Release date: 11-20-08

Publisher: Jimcin Recordings

Ratings: 4 of 5 out of 21 votes

Genres: Classics, American Literature

Publisher's Summary:

The Minister's Black Veil was first published in the 1836 edition of The Token and Atlantic Souvenir. It later appeared in Twice-Told Tales, a collection of short stories by Hawthorne published in 1837. Hawthorne's inspiration for this story may have been a true event. A clergyman named Joseph Moody of York, Maine, nicknamed "Handkerchief Moody", accidentally killed a friend when he was a young man and wore a black veil from the man's funeral until his own death. The story concerns the minister of a small town who suddenly and inexplicably begins wearing a black veil that hangs from his forehead and covers his eyes and nose. As one charater in the story says, "He has changed himself into something awful, only by hiding his face." Hawthorne thus creates a dramtic story based around two of his common themes - the effects of secrecy and guilt.

©1836 The Token and Atlantic Souvenir; (P)1984 Jimcin Recordings

Editorial Reviews:

In Puritan New England, Reverend Hooper ascends his pulpit as usual, but this time hes wearing a black veil covering nearly his whole face. His parishioners are given no explanation for their pastors change of appearance, and the implications of the costume ripple mightily through the town. We are in Nathaniel Hawthorne territory, where sin, guilt, and the power of social suggestion converge for tremendous philosophic and dramatic effect.

"The Ministers Black Veil", performed in a fittingly reverential tone by Walter Zimmerman, is among Hawthornes most venerable short stories, possibly for its allegorical nature and possibly because it lends itself to multiple interpretations. What this brief moral audiobook does affirm is the presence of "those sad mysteries which we hide from our nearest and dearest".

Members Reviews:

One of those "why do I have to read this" books

What disappointed you about The Minister's Black Veil?

There was pretty much nothing interesting in the story to me. The writing was good, but the story was not compelling. I'm not a fan of this style, why read this one when there are more interesting stories by other authors in this same genre.

What could Nathaniel Hawthorne have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Had a better conclusion.

What didnt you like about Walter Zimmermans performance?

The performance was fine, I think he did the best possible with this source material.

You didnt love this book... but did it have any redeeming qualities?

The quality of the writing was very high, just not a good story.

Any additional comments?

Skip it unless you have to read it for school.