Two Tales from Herman Melville cover art

Two Tales from Herman Melville

Preview
LIMITED TIME OFFER

3 months free
Try for £0.00
£8.99/mo thereafter. Renews automatically. Terms apply. Offer ends 31 July 2025 at 23:59 GMT.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Premium Plus auto-renews for £8.99/mo after 3 months. Cancel monthly.

Two Tales from Herman Melville

By: Herman Melville
Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor, Gene Faraday
Try for £0.00

£8.99/mo after 3 months. Offer ends 31 July 2025 23:59 GMT. Cancel monthly.

Buy Now for £5.99

Buy Now for £5.99

Confirm Purchase
Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.
Cancel

About this listen

Two Tales From Herman Melville includes "The Lightning-Rod Man" and "The Bell-Tower."

After spending the summer of 1853 in the Berkshire Mountains, where he supposedly had a real life encounter with a lightning-rod salesman, Melville published "The Lightning-Rod Man." At the end of this short story, the lightning-rod salesman is exposed for the fraud that he is. However, that will not keep his successors from fanning out to the Middle West, where lightning storms abound and farmers were gullible.

On another level, the story can be interpreted as a confrontation between Good and Evil. Through description and diction, the narrator is understood as a follower of God, someone who believes in The Almighty watching over him. On the other hand, the lightning-rod man is seen as a negative character, someone who only has faith in the product he's peddling.

"The Bell-Tower," published in 1856, is the story of an eccentric architect named Bannadonna and his quest to build a magnificent bell-tower. As building progresses, local townspeople begin to hear of mysterious occurrences in the tower, leading to a suspenseful conclusion.

Public Domain (P)2023 Listen & Live Audio
Anthologies & Short Stories Short Stories
No reviews yet