Selected Short Stories of Nathaniel Hawthorne

by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Alfred Kazin (Editor)

From the author who gave us THE SCARLET LETTER and THE HOUSE OF THE SEVEN GABLES, here is a comprehensive selection of his best short stories, including:

The minister's black veil --
The maypole of Merry Mount --
Wakefield --
The prophetic pictures --
Dr. Heidegger's experiment --
Endicott and the Red Cross --
The birthmark --
Young Goodman Brown --
Rappaccini's daughter --
Feathertop: A moralized legend --
Roger Malvin's burial --
Earth's holocaust --
The artist of the beautiful --
Ethan Brand --
My kinsman, major molineux

Genres: Short Stories, Classics, Fiction, Literature, Fantasy, American, Literary Fiction

256 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1966

About the author

Nathaniel 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.

Reviews

[Eric Stockwell]

So, this book was required reading for me back in my wacky college-phase; do not let that admission deter from this review. Although, I had read this many years back, I can tell you what stuck with me, and serves as testament to the genius of this collection; Hawthorne perfectly captures the human condition. He poignantly shines a spot-light on all the things that make us beautiful and horrible, artfully turning that magnifying glass in on the reader and shamelessly leaves you to draw your own conclusions. In my opinion, you can cheerfully disregard his longer, more well-known stories; his short stories are where your eyes should be focused.

[Hayley]

Donna Overly forced this collection into my hands because I had made the comment that "Hawthorne is so fun to read in short spurts". I wasn't excited to pick up another collection of his, but seeing that half of the short stories were already read in Classics Book club, I decided to read the rest. I think I have found my favorite short story of, possibly, all time. "Feathertop" is magnificent and should be read by everyone!! Loved this tale and its moral at the end. I kept chuckling while I read it at the pool.

[Lucy Hastings]

We read four of these stories in high school, and I didn’t remember much about them. I was pleasantly surprised, and enjoyed most of the stories, although reading one after the other got a bit much by the end.

[Virna]

I try to read this, but after four stories, this is boring and everything Finnish abruptly.

[David Meditationseed]

With engaging writing, going through the supernatural and gothic world, Hawthorne is one of the exponents of this style in the early half of the 18th century, influencing many other writers who came after him.

Young Master Brown, for example, how many movie scenes we see were possibly inspired by this tale written in 1835, in which the protagonist seeing the most ordinary people in society: from pastors and priests to politicians to merchants, from acquaintances to unknown pedestrians of a city - watches them closely and realizes that they are devils or faithful of a satanic cult. I remember for example, The Devil's Advocate, or a TV adaptation of an episode of Grimm.

In this tale, the characters' names are related to the symbolic, a direct metaphor of the story itself, as in American Gods, by Neil Gaiman. Here we find a woman named Faith and the protagonist Goodman.

From the dark and mysterious adventure of a satanic cult, without the certainty of that if it is a dream or reality, and the participation in it of a kind of secret society with the most unlikely members, the author points to two profound reflections: the greater evil would be that which dwells within people? And guilt and obsession could intoxicate an individual's mind in a radical way until death?

[Jules Messitte]

Hawthorne's investigation of the human obsession with guilt was fascinating. It was interesting to read how he approached guilt and regret (the "Unpardonable Sin" in one mention) from a different angle in each story. It seems he was consumed by the question of whether or not man - his words not mine - could truly repent/redeem himself. The collection of endings is a resounding no. I wonder if he was haunted by a former action of his own.

I respect how he was able to use the word "bosom" in every story at least a couple of times. In different ways as well. I was surprised by how often he used French words; I couldn't tell if he did so for literary reasons or if it was just the terminology of the day.

[Peter]

"Has it not consumed everything? Has it not swallowed up or melted down every human or divine appendage of our mortal state that had substance enough to be acted on by fire?"
"You will find among the ashes everything really valuable that you have seen cast into the flames. . . . Not a truth is destroyed nor buried so deep among the ashes but it will be raked up at last."

In high school or college, I had read four of the fifteen stories here, but it was rewarding to revisit them. Favorites overall were . . .
"Wakefield"
"Dr. Heidegger's Experiment"
"The Birthmark"
"Young Goodman Brown"
"Rappacini's Daughter"
"Earth's Holocaust"
"Ethan Brand"

[Brian Bess]

Sampling of some of Hawthorne's best and most popular stories

Reading these stories in succession, I sense the similarities with his contemporaries Edgar Allan Poe and Nicolai Gogol, as well as his influence on 20th century short story masters such as Ray Bradbury.

[Judy]

A collection of nine short stories by one of my favorite American authors.

[Dorotea Kos]

3.7

[Vonda]

Some of these stories are good, and some very good. I enjoyed this visit into the past.

[Brenda Brown]

Read stories recommended by Teaching Company lectures.

[J. Alfred]

You ever get that "mmm I just gotta get me some ol' American Romanticism" vibe? Me neither. However, if you're looking for it, this is the way to go. The man is a master, even in the short stories, though of course The Scarlet Letter is tops on his You Must Read This list.
Powerful, interesting stuff from a dude who was born, almost literally, in the shadow of the New England Puritans.

[Asha Seth]

A collection of 9 short stories written with wit, humor and some with shades of creepy horror.
1. The Ambitious Guest
2. The Antique Ring
3. The Artist of the Beautiful
4. A Bells's Biography
5. Beneath an Umbrella
6. The Birthmark
7. The Minister's Black Veil
8. Young Goodman Brown
9. Feathertop: A Moralized Legend

[Monica]

I don't have this book but I'm gonna look through all my collections for some Hawthorne short stories.

[Lera]

A must have collection for any American Lit. buff.

[Casey]

Not too into classics but there were some stories I sort of liked in here... Ant think of any at the moment, but there were two or three

[Perry]

I can only imagine what high school me thought of these and wonder why he did not read.

[Alicia Terrill]

I read about 4 or 5 of the short stories before I lost my copy of the book. I liked the stories ok, but I didn't really get into them. If I find it, I'll read more, but I'm moving on for now.