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Nathaniel Hawthorne
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This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.
Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. To ensure a quality reading experience, this work has been proofread and republished using a format that seamlessly blends the original graphical elements with text in an easy-to-read typeface.
We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.
Leather Bound
First published July 10, 1995
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About the author
Nathaniel Hawthorne
5,464 books3,585 followersNathaniel Hawthorne was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. He is seen as a key figure in the development of American literature for his tales of the nation's colonial history.
Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales and became engaged to painter and illustrator Sophia Peabody the next year. He worked at a Custom House and joined a Transcendentalist Utopian community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before returning to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.
Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His work is considered part of the Romantic movement and includes novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend, the United States President Franklin Pierce.
Shortly after graduating from Bowdoin College, Hathorne changed his name to Hawthorne. Hawthorne anonymously published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828. In 1837, he published Twice-Told Tales and became engaged to painter and illustrator Sophia Peabody the next year. He worked at a Custom House and joined a Transcendentalist Utopian community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before returning to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, leaving behind his wife and their three children.
Much of Hawthorne's writing centers around New England and many feature moral allegories with a Puritan inspiration. His work is considered part of the Romantic movement and includes novels, short stories, and a biography of his friend, the United States President Franklin Pierce.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
November 30, 2020
Good navigation from this Delphi version which I will continue to use when I read Hawthorne. For highlights and notes are listed here but the reviews of stories under the titles. So far no errors in text.
April 15, 2018
Delphi Classics 2.5 stars, Hawthorne 5
First, when reviewing the classics, we must state the edition. This is most imperative with books in translation. Hawthorne's works of fiction remain a must read for every generation. First, his syntax and never-ending sentences rife with side clause, double negative and multiple metaphor., challenging to say the least. Maybe we can all stand to profit from a slowdown, taking time necessary to gain access to his ideas, observations. The Scarlet Letter remains the greatest American novella. Hawthorne admittedly was a man of his time and this is nowhere more apparent than in his allegorical essays, such those contained in MOSSES. Ignoring his take on what he perceived as optimal feminine characteristics where he is inclined to separate out these by sex (this is not a consistent practice), Hawthorne had a keen perception of human nature in general.
Today's literature of empathy is great, but our earliest American geniuses, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Dickenson alive with the Energy of a new religion, democracy, wedded to an eerie confidence in a collective Destiny, should be mandatory reading as a prescription for our early 21st Century malaise. I will qualify this by adding we also need to add to our American artistic canon non "dead white (and sadly, only one woman) guys" and seek out, explore the literature of the "Not White" literary genius of Baldwin, Morrison, etc., as an investment in our collective artistic legacy.
First, when reviewing the classics, we must state the edition. This is most imperative with books in translation. Hawthorne's works of fiction remain a must read for every generation. First, his syntax and never-ending sentences rife with side clause, double negative and multiple metaphor., challenging to say the least. Maybe we can all stand to profit from a slowdown, taking time necessary to gain access to his ideas, observations. The Scarlet Letter remains the greatest American novella. Hawthorne admittedly was a man of his time and this is nowhere more apparent than in his allegorical essays, such those contained in MOSSES. Ignoring his take on what he perceived as optimal feminine characteristics where he is inclined to separate out these by sex (this is not a consistent practice), Hawthorne had a keen perception of human nature in general.
Today's literature of empathy is great, but our earliest American geniuses, Hawthorne, Melville, Whitman, Dickenson alive with the Energy of a new religion, democracy, wedded to an eerie confidence in a collective Destiny, should be mandatory reading as a prescription for our early 21st Century malaise. I will qualify this by adding we also need to add to our American artistic canon non "dead white (and sadly, only one woman) guys" and seek out, explore the literature of the "Not White" literary genius of Baldwin, Morrison, etc., as an investment in our collective artistic legacy.
October 2, 2025
Hawthorne's stories may sound original but they lack a certain vibrancy for which he consciously or unconsciously compensates with flowery language, often to their own detriment.
Having read his work on numerous occasions throughout the years, I'm more confident than ever before that he doesn't possess the one quality which defines literary greats: a mission and a vision. Without these two elements to elevate words beyond the page, his voice falls flat, his style remains inauthentic, completely failing to withstand the test of time. I can't speak for academics, but there's a sort of wall between Hawthorne and general readers. He struggles to establish a strong opening scene, and the prevailing mood is always this ambiguous, hollow portrayal of what people and places are supposed to be like. .
The point here is that Hawthorne is an expressionist, not a realist. It's difficult to follow his train of thought because his stories tend to operate within a romanticized version of reality that only exists in his mind. Since his stories are character-driven, and these behave in strange ways to the point of being unrelatable, everything appears abstract. We become estranged from the beginning, unable to connect with his characters and settings. Hawthorne the narrator is self-absorbed rather than accommodating; he is content with talking to himself while we listen. So when he employs his favorite trick of addressing the reader directly to let them in on some joke, it feels insincere.
Even now, he lives in the shadow of his contemporaries, Whitman, Poe, Melville, and Dickinson. No doubt he'd have faded into obscurity like say, the British eccentric Marie Corelli, were it not for the American education system keeping his corpse propped up. Likewise, bachelor's degrees in English studies taught across Europe insist on dissecting him too. Consider this: 8 novels, three of which are unfinished, over 100 short stories, extensive diary entries, yet tradition dictates that only The Scarlet Letter should be overanalyzed each year. Seeing how its multilayeredness relies on an abundance of narrative techniques, one can understand the temptation. Sure, anybody can make the same complaint about Melville and his Moby-Dick—oops, no pun intended!—but Melville's prose is malleable so that a difficult genre like maritime fiction becomes accessible.
By contrast, Hawthorne's passionate endeavor following the publication of The Scarlet Letter disappears in his subsequent novels, as if he'd run out of interesting things to say. And believe me, he did. Not surprising, since in my opinion nothing he wrote can be considered transformative. If anything, he was a dilettante. Yes, Nathaniel Hawthorne is a writer, but he's not an artist . . . which is to say, there isn't a single work in this entire collection that makes you think "What an amazing story, I'd definitely read it again!"
NOVELS
Fanshawe (★★)
My review
The Scarlet Letter (★★★)
It's been nearly a decade since I'd read it. Review to come in the future.
The House of the Seven Gables (★★)
My review
The Blithedale Romance (★★)
My review
The Marble Faun (★★)
My review
The Dolliver Romance (★★)
Unfinished novel. Part of what seemed like a mythos Hawthorne had conceived about a cursed bloody footprint. His most coherent idea so far.
Septimius Felton (★★★★)
My review
Doctor Grimshawe's Secret (★★)
My review
The Ancestral Footstep (★★)
It's only three chapters long.
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
Nothing much to say regarding the story collections. Some are fun, some are tedious, others lie somewhere in between.
Twice-Told Tales (★★)
Legends of the Province House (★★)
Mosses from an Old Manse (★★)
The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales (★★)
The Dolliver Romance and Other Pieces (★★)
The Great Stone Face and Other Tales of the White Mountains (★★)
Grandfather's Chair (★★)
My review
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (★) & Tanglewood Tales (★)
Poor retellings of Greek myths (for children). Neat illustrations but that's all.
NONFICTION
Biographical Stories for Children (★★)
Exactly what the title says. I'd give it a third star, only it's too short and Hawthorne's choice of those 6 historical figures seems too random.
Life of Franklin Pierce (★★)
Hawthorne writes nonfiction just like his fiction! In the most insipid, drawn-out way possible. I didn't know he was close friends with a US president and I can't say I was impressed with the man in question. Even Americans seem to have forgotten who he is. While on that topic, a better biography of a US president would be Carl Sandburg's The Prairie Years and The War Years.
Our Old Home: A Series of English Sketches (★★)
A detailed account of England during his stay as a consul there, full of anecdotes, descriptions, opinions, remarks and complaints. Occasionally, one can't help but notice a hint of condescension in his tone. It's written by a man who, no matter where he went, viewed other countries through the lens of "America is the greatest nation on earth". Not a reliable narrator.
Passages from the English Note-Books (★★)
Passages from the French and Italian Note-Books (★★)
Passages from the American Note-Books (★★)
Hawthorne's travelogues and journal entries which amount to about 2250 pages. A goldmine for serious academics, but quite daunting (and frankly useless) if we're talking about casual reading. I wasn't able to read any of the 6 volumes from cover to cover.
Twenty Days with Julian & Little Bunny (★★★)
My review
Chiefly About War Matters (★★)
An essay on the civil war, though it reads more like an opinionated piece. Nothing new or interesting. Stick to history books!
Having read his work on numerous occasions throughout the years, I'm more confident than ever before that he doesn't possess the one quality which defines literary greats: a mission and a vision. Without these two elements to elevate words beyond the page, his voice falls flat, his style remains inauthentic, completely failing to withstand the test of time. I can't speak for academics, but there's a sort of wall between Hawthorne and general readers. He struggles to establish a strong opening scene, and the prevailing mood is always this ambiguous, hollow portrayal of what people and places are supposed to be like. .
The point here is that Hawthorne is an expressionist, not a realist. It's difficult to follow his train of thought because his stories tend to operate within a romanticized version of reality that only exists in his mind. Since his stories are character-driven, and these behave in strange ways to the point of being unrelatable, everything appears abstract. We become estranged from the beginning, unable to connect with his characters and settings. Hawthorne the narrator is self-absorbed rather than accommodating; he is content with talking to himself while we listen. So when he employs his favorite trick of addressing the reader directly to let them in on some joke, it feels insincere.
Even now, he lives in the shadow of his contemporaries, Whitman, Poe, Melville, and Dickinson. No doubt he'd have faded into obscurity like say, the British eccentric Marie Corelli, were it not for the American education system keeping his corpse propped up. Likewise, bachelor's degrees in English studies taught across Europe insist on dissecting him too. Consider this: 8 novels, three of which are unfinished, over 100 short stories, extensive diary entries, yet tradition dictates that only The Scarlet Letter should be overanalyzed each year. Seeing how its multilayeredness relies on an abundance of narrative techniques, one can understand the temptation. Sure, anybody can make the same complaint about Melville and his Moby-Dick—oops, no pun intended!—but Melville's prose is malleable so that a difficult genre like maritime fiction becomes accessible.
By contrast, Hawthorne's passionate endeavor following the publication of The Scarlet Letter disappears in his subsequent novels, as if he'd run out of interesting things to say. And believe me, he did. Not surprising, since in my opinion nothing he wrote can be considered transformative. If anything, he was a dilettante. Yes, Nathaniel Hawthorne is a writer, but he's not an artist . . . which is to say, there isn't a single work in this entire collection that makes you think "What an amazing story, I'd definitely read it again!"
NOVELS
Fanshawe (★★)
My review
The Scarlet Letter (★★★)
It's been nearly a decade since I'd read it. Review to come in the future.
The House of the Seven Gables (★★)
My review
The Blithedale Romance (★★)
My review
The Marble Faun (★★)
My review
The Dolliver Romance (★★)
Unfinished novel. Part of what seemed like a mythos Hawthorne had conceived about a cursed bloody footprint. His most coherent idea so far.
Septimius Felton (★★★★)
My review
Doctor Grimshawe's Secret (★★)
My review
The Ancestral Footstep (★★)
It's only three chapters long.
SHORT STORY COLLECTIONS
Nothing much to say regarding the story collections. Some are fun, some are tedious, others lie somewhere in between.
Twice-Told Tales (★★)
Legends of the Province House (★★)
Mosses from an Old Manse (★★)
The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-Told Tales (★★)
The Dolliver Romance and Other Pieces (★★)
The Great Stone Face and Other Tales of the White Mountains (★★)
Grandfather's Chair (★★)
My review
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (★) & Tanglewood Tales (★)
Poor retellings of Greek myths (for children). Neat illustrations but that's all.
NONFICTION
Biographical Stories for Children (★★)
Exactly what the title says. I'd give it a third star, only it's too short and Hawthorne's choice of those 6 historical figures seems too random.
Life of Franklin Pierce (★★)
Hawthorne writes nonfiction just like his fiction! In the most insipid, drawn-out way possible. I didn't know he was close friends with a US president and I can't say I was impressed with the man in question. Even Americans seem to have forgotten who he is. While on that topic, a better biography of a US president would be Carl Sandburg's The Prairie Years and The War Years.
Our Old Home: A Series of English Sketches (★★)
A detailed account of England during his stay as a consul there, full of anecdotes, descriptions, opinions, remarks and complaints. Occasionally, one can't help but notice a hint of condescension in his tone. It's written by a man who, no matter where he went, viewed other countries through the lens of "America is the greatest nation on earth". Not a reliable narrator.
Passages from the English Note-Books (★★)
Passages from the French and Italian Note-Books (★★)
Passages from the American Note-Books (★★)
Hawthorne's travelogues and journal entries which amount to about 2250 pages. A goldmine for serious academics, but quite daunting (and frankly useless) if we're talking about casual reading. I wasn't able to read any of the 6 volumes from cover to cover.
Twenty Days with Julian & Little Bunny (★★★)
My review
Chiefly About War Matters (★★)
An essay on the civil war, though it reads more like an opinionated piece. Nothing new or interesting. Stick to history books!
November 11, 2024
Was okay
Was okay but I probably won't read this particular book again. I found it a little boring. Only small parts were interesting.
Was okay but I probably won't read this particular book again. I found it a little boring. Only small parts were interesting.
March 20, 2019
Being that Hawthorn belonged to transcendalists after witnessing a slavery auction ended up being vocal in his writing. Some of his work seemed to drag on forever and other works were excellent.
November 12, 2019
Wrangling through convoluted sentences that seem perversely convoluted. Google "Hawthorne sentence diagram" as evidence. I think the Scarlet letter A stands for Abstruse.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews