Nathaniel Hawthorne

Here are the best of Hawthorne's short stories. There are twenty-four of them -- not only the most familiar, but also many that are virtually unknown to the average reader. The selection was made by Professor Newton Arvin of Smith College, a recognized authority on Hawthorne and a distinguished literary critic as well. His fine introduction admirably interprets Hawthorne's mind and art.

<p>Here, in one Library of America volume, are all five of Hawthorne’s world-famous novels. Written in a richly suggestive style that seems remarkably contemporary, they are permeated by his own history as well as America’s. </p> <p>In <em>The House of the Seven Gables</em> , for example, Hawthorne alludes to his ancestor’s involvement in the Salem witch trials, as he follows the fortunes of two rival families, the Maules and the Pyncheons. The novel moves across 150 years of American history, from an ancestral crime condoned by Puritan theocracy to reconciliation and a new beginning in the bustling Jacksonian era. </p> <p>Considered Hawthorne’s greatest work, <em>The Scarlet Letter</em> is a dramatic allegory of the social consequences of adultery and the subversive force of personal desire in a community of laws. The transgression of Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale; the innate lawlessness of their bastard child, Pearl; and the torturous jealousy of the husband Roger Chillingworth eventually erupt through the stern reserve of Puritan Boston. <em>The Scarlet Letter</em> engages the moral and romantic imagination of readers who ponder the question of sexual freedom and its place in the social world.<br /> <em><br /> </em>Fanshawe<strong> is an engrossing apprentice work that Hawthorne published anonymously and later sought to suppress. Written during his undergraduate years at Bowdoin College, it is a tragic romance of an ascetic scholar’s love for a merchant’s daughter.<br /> <em><br /> </em>The Blithedale Romance</strong> is a novel about the perils, which Hawthorne knew first-hand, of living in a utopian community. The utilitarian reformer Hollingsworth, the reticent narrator Miles Coverdale, the unearthly Priscilla, and the sensuous Zenobia (purportedly modeled on Margaret Fuller) act out a drama of love and rejection, idealism and chicanery, millennial hope and suicidal despair on an experimental commune in rural Massachusetts.<br /> <em><br /> </em>The Marble Faun** , Hawthorne’s last finished novel, uses Italian landscapes where sunlight gives way to mythological shadings as a background for mysteries of identity and murder. Its two young Americans, Kenyon and Hilda, become caught up in the disastrous passion of Donatello, an ingenuous nobleman, for the beautiful, mysterious Miriam, a woman trying to escape her past. </p> <p><strong>LIBRARY OF AMERICA</strong> is an independent nonprofit cultural organization founded in 1979 to preserve our nation’s literary heritage by publishing, and keeping permanently in print, America’s best and most significant writing. The Library of America series includes more than 300 volumes to date, authoritative editions that average 1,000 pages in length, feature cloth covers, sewn bindings, and ribbon markers, and are printed on premium acid-free paper that will last for centuries.</p> <p>**</p> <b>The Library of America presents in one giftable collection all 5 of Nathaniel Hawthorne&rsquo;s world-famous novels&mdash;including<i> The House of the Seven Gables </i>and <i>The Scarlet Letter</i>.</b><br> Written in a richly suggestive style that seems remarkably contemporary, Nathaniel Hawthorne&rsquo;s novels permeated by his own history as well as America&rsquo;s.<br> In <i>The House of the Seven Gables</i>, Nathaniel Hawthorne alludes to his ancestor&rsquo;s involvement in the Salem witch trials, as he follows the fortunes of two rival families, the Maules and the Pyncheons. The novel moves across 150 years of American history, from an ancestral crime condoned by Puritan theocracy to reconciliation and a new beginning in the bustling Jacksonian era.<br> Considered Hawthorne&rsquo;s greatest work, <i>The Scarlet Letter </i>is a dramatic allegory of the social consequences of adultery and the subversive force of personal desire in a community of laws. The transgression of...

A woman in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony is forced to wear the shame of her sin embroidered on her clothes.

Based on Hawthorne's own experience of a Utopian socialist community outside Boston, The Blithedale Romance tells of the attempts of a like-minded group to begin reforming a dissipated America. However, rather than dropping bad habits and changing the world, Coverdale the prurient bachelor, Hollingsworth the furious philanthropist, Zenobia the voluptuous feminist, and Priscilla the vulnerable seamstress soon find themselves pursuing egotistical paths which must lead ultimately to tragedy. Evoking a bright rural idyll which fails to survive the ravages of lust and power, Hawthorne cynically undermines the fatuities of nineteenth-century American idealism.

Of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s insight into the Puritan’s simultaneous need for fulfillment and self-destruction, D. H. Lawrence wrote, “Nathaniel knew disagreeable things in his inner soul. He was careful to send them out in disguise.” By means of artfully crafted and compelling tales, Hawthorne explored the destinies and concerns of early American settlers and citizens. In several of the stories in this collection, characters who hold themselves apart from their fellow man fall prey to the corroding desires of lust for perfection. Then they unwittingly commit evils—against themselves and others—in the name of pride. Edgar Allan Poe noted of Hawthorne’s writing: “Every word tells, and there is not a word which does not tell.” ** ### Review “He is an aesthetic solitary. His beautiful, light imagination is the wing that on the autumn evening just brushes the dusky window.”—Henry James ### About the Author Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts, the son and grandson of proud New England seafarers. He lived in genteel poverty with his widowed mother and two young sisters in a house filled with Puritan ideals and family pride in a prosperous past. His boyhood was, in most respects, pleasant and normal. In 1825 he was graduated from Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, and he returned to Salem determined to become a writer of short stories. For the next twelve years he was plagued with unhappiness and self-doubts as he struggled to master his craft. He finally secured some small measure of success with the publication of his *Twice-Told Tales* (1837). His marriage to Sophia Peabody in 1842 was a happy one. *The Scarlet Letter* (1850), which brought him immediate recognition, was followed by *The House of the Seven Gables* (1851). After serving four years as the American Consul in Liverpool, England, he traveled in Italy; he returned home to Massachusetts in 1860. Depressed, weary of writing, and failing in health, he died on May 19, 1864, at Plymouth, New Hampshire. Ross C. Murfin, professor of English at and former provost of Southern Methodist University, has also taught at the University of Virginia, Yale University, and the University of Miami, where he was Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences. He is the author of such books as **Swinburne** , Hardy, **Lawrence and the Burden of Belief** and **The Poetry of D. H. Lawrence: Texts and Contexts**. He is coauthor, with Supryia Ray, of **The Bedford Glossary of Critical and Literary Terms** (second edition) and series editor of Bedford/St. Martin's popular **Case Studies in Contemporary Criticism**.

The Complete Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Julian Hawthorne, first published in 1883, is a rare manuscript, the original residing in one of the great libraries of the world. This book is a reproduction of that original, which has been scanned and cleaned by state-of-the-art publishing tools for better readability and enhanced appreciation. Restoration Editors' mission is to bring long out of print manuscripts back to life. Some smudges, annotations or unclear text may still exist, due to permanent damage to the original work. We believe the literary significance of the text justifies offering this reproduction, allowing a new generation to appreciate it. This eBook edition of "The Complete Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne (Illustrated Edition)" has been formatted to the highest digital standards and adjusted for readability on all devices. Table of Contents: Novels: Fanshawe The Scarlet Letter The House of the Seven Gables The Blithedale Romance The Marble Faun The Dolliver Romance Septimius Felton Doctor Grimshawe's Secret Collections of Short Stories: Twice-Told Tales The Whole History of Grandfather's Chair Biographical Stories Mosses from an Old Manse Wonder Book For Girls and Boys The Snow Image and Other Twice Told Tales Tanglewood Tales For Girls and Boys The Dolliver Romance and Other Pieces, Tales and Sketches The Story Teller Sketches in Magazines Poems: Address to the Moon The Darken'd Veil Earthly Pomp Forms of Heroes Go to the Grave My Low and Humble Home The Ocean Essays: The British Matron: A Satire The Ancestral Footstep: Outlines of an English Romance Life Of Franklin Pierce Chiefly About War Matters Our Old Home Autobiographical Writings: Browne's Folly Love Letters (To Miss Sophia Peabody) Letter to the Editor of the Literary Review American Notebooks English Notebooks French and Italian Notebooks Biographies and Reminiscences of Hawthorne: Biography The Life and Genius of Hawthorne by Frank Preston Stearns Hawthorne and His Circle by Julian Hawthorne Memories of Hawthorne by Rose Hawthorne Lathrop Hawthorne and His Moses by Herman Melville Fifty Years of Hawthorne My Literary Passions by W. D. Howell Life of Great Authors by H. T. Griswold Yesterday With Authors by J. T. Field Hawthorne and Brook Farm by G. W. Curtis Short Biography Essays and Criticisms on Hawthorne and His Works: Hawthorne by Henry James Jr. Nathaniel Hawthorne by Andrew Lang Nathaniel Hawthorne by G. E. Woodberry A Study of Hawthorne by G. P. Lathrop ...

<p>The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a classic novel set in a small New England town. It follows the lives of the Pyncheon family, whose wealth and power are tied to the ancient house of the seven gables. Through the story, Hawthorne explores themes of guilt and retribution, as well as the struggle between past and present. With its vivid characters and captivating plot, The House of the Seven Gables is a timeless exploration of the human condition. </p> <p><strong>Nathaniel Hawthorne</strong> (1804-1864) was an American novelist and short story writer whose works are deeply rooted in Puritanism, a branch of Protestantism that originated in England during the 16th century. Hawthorne's stories are often based on moral and religious themes and explore the psychological complexities of guilt, sin, and pride. He is best known for his novels The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seven Gables (1851). Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts and was a descendant of a Puritan family of English origin. He attended Bowdoin College, where he befriended the poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. After graduating in 1825, Hawthorne moved back to Salem and wrote his first novel, Fanshawe, which was published in 1828. He then wrote a series of short stories for magazines and journals, including “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Minister's Black Veil.” In 1842, Hawthorne moved to Concord, Massachusetts, where he wrote The Scarlet Letter, a novel about a woman who is publicly shamed for having a child out of wedlock. The novel was a success and Hawthorne was recognized as a major American writer. He continued to write throughout the 1840s and 1850s, including The House of the Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance. Hawthorne's works remain popular today and continue to be studied by academics and readers alike. His stories explore themes of morality and religion, and his style is characterized by complex symbolism and psychological depth. Hawthorne's works are considered to be some of the most important pieces of American literature.</p> <p class="description">Hawthorne's tale about the brooding hold of the past over the present is a complex one, twisting and turning its way back through many generations of a venerable New England family, one of whose members was accused of witchcraft in 17th century Salem. More than 200 years later, we meet the family in its decaying, gabled mansion, still haunted by the presence of dead ancestors: Hepzibah, an elderly gentlewoman fallen on had times; her ineffectual brother, Clifford; and young Phoebe, a country maiden who cheerfully takes it upon herself to care for her two doddering relations. There's also Holgrave, a free-spirited daguerreotypist, who makes a surprising transformation into conventional respectability at the story's end. These people seem to be symbols for Hawthorne's theme more than full-bodied characters in their own right. As such, it can only be difficult for today's young adults to identify with them, especially since they are so caught up in a past that is all but unknown to present day sensibilities. </p> 9781434000859

<p>Hawthorne’s final novel is a provocative look at American artists abroad and a groundbreaking exploration of the influence of European thought on American morality that anticipates the work of Henry James, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Ernest Hemingway, among others. The story of the mysterious, tormented Miriam, her friends Kenyon and Hilda, their alluring Italian acquaintance, the faunlike Donatello, and the crime that irrevocably links them all is, says Peter Robb, “a surprising drama, one that recalls nothing so much as American noir of a hundred years later . . . driven by the powerful and unfaltering engines of sex and violence.”This Modern Library Paperback Classic uses the definitive text as prepared for The Centenary Edition of the Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne.</p> <p>This novel tells the story of Donarells, an Italian Count bearing an uncanny resemblance to the faun of Praxiteles, the sculptor Kenyon and two young art students, Miriam and Hilda. The author also wrote "Scarlet Letter".