The Great Carbuncle

Snoozecast

Kids & Family, Health & Fitness, Stories For Kids

4.5 • 1.5K Ratings

🗓️ 2 June 2025

⏱️ 41 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Tonight, we’ll read a short story titled “The Great Carbuncle” written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in 1835. Set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a band of eight adventurers gathers together. They are each on a personal quest for the Great Carbuncle, a brilliant gem legendary in its elusiveness. The story’s ensemble cast represents a spectrum of motivations—scientific curiosity, fame, greed, and reverence—each character convinced they deserve the Carbuncle more than the next. But it’s the quiet presence of a humble newlywed couple, seeking only to glimpse the stone and return to a modest life, that serves as the story’s moral compass. While there was never a documented search for a mythical gemstone like the Great Carbuncle in New England, the region has long been home to mineral and gem prospecting. Hawthorne likely drew inspiration from this local landscape of rugged ambition and romantic wilderness to craft a legend that, though fictional, feels rooted in place. — read by 'N' — Sign up for Snoozecast+ to get expanded, ad-free access by going to snoozecast.com/plus! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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1:25.6	The Harth's Cheerful Glow.
1:30.9	Tonight, we'll read a short story titled The Great Carbuncle, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and published in 1835.
1:42.4	Set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, a band of eight adventurers gather together.
1:49.0	They are each on a personal quest for the great carbuncle, a brilliant gem, legendary, and its elusiveness.
1:59.0	Hawthorne explores the importance of honesty, simplicity, and selflessness in the great carbuncle.
2:09.6	These positive characteristics are most often demonstrated by the newlywed couple during the search for the carbuncle. They sacrifice personal gain,
2:20.3	alter their goals,
2:23.3	pivot their actions to assist others for the good of the group.
2:32.3	Let's get cozy.
2:35.0	Close your eyes.
2:38.0	Relax your body into the softness of your bed.
	...

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