The BellTower, Herman Melville
The BellTower, Herman Melville
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The Bell-Tower

Author: Herman Melville

Narrator: Gene Faraday

Unabridged: 43 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/28/2025

Categories: Fiction, Short Stories


Synopsis

"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. Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, essayist and poet, whose work is often classified as part of the genre of dark romanticism. He is best known for his novel Moby Dick and novella Billy Budd, the latter of which was published posthumously. After a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime. When he died in 1891, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early 20th century that his work won recognition, most notably Moby Dick which was hailed as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and world literature.

About Herman Melville

Herman Melville (1819–1891) was an American novelist, short-story writer, essayist, and poet who is often classified as part of dark romanticism. He is best known for his novel Moby Dick and novella Billy Budd, the latter which was published posthumously. His first three books gained much attention, the first becoming a bestseller, but after a fast-blooming literary success in the late 1840s, his popularity declined precipitously in the mid-1850s and never recovered during his lifetime. When he died, he was almost completely forgotten. It was not until the "Melville Revival" in the early twentieth century that his work won recognition, most notably Moby Dick, which was hailed as one of the chief literary masterpieces of both American and world literature.


Reviews

Goodreads review by J.G. Keely on December 14, 2012

If steampunk took as much inspiration from this as from Verne and Wells, it might be a formidable speculative genre indeed.......more

Goodreads review by Francis on May 06, 2017

I do not really like short stories as a general rule. It's a mode of fiction that's become dominated by contemporary, 'literary' authors and characterised by their worst excesses: endless introspection, vacuous sentimentality and colourless realism. In short, I find a lot of literary upstarts to lac......more

Goodreads review by Wayne on June 08, 2017

1.5 If this hadn't been so short I would have quit. The writing was good but the story was boring and did absolutely nothing for me.......more

Goodreads review by YoungSun on June 16, 2019

Bannadonna, who has the opposite character of Bartleby, has same destiny with this young wallstreet man. Obsession of Banadonna and withdrawal of Bartleby converge into ruins. Ruins Some metropolises like the destroyed belltower seem to be ruins. I feel this sentiment in New York in 2015.......more

Goodreads review by Joshua on April 19, 2020

Short story similar to one of Poe's where the protagonist is undone by his own neuroticism. The middle is a bit tedious but the ending is well worth it.......more