Nathaniel Hawthorne

CHEN PALACE, A UNIQUE PIECE OF ARCHITECT IN NEW ENGLAND. IT IS NOT JUST ANY BUILDING WHICH IS CONSTRUCTED WITH BRICKS AND SOIL, IT HAS A HISTORY OF THOSE PEOPLE WHO HAVE STAYED IN THIS BUILDING SINCE ITS CONSTRUCTION, WHO THEMSELVES ARE SO UNIQUE THAT THEY ARE KNOWN TO BE WHIMSICAL. THE INFRASTRUCTURE ITSELF HAS MAINTAINED A DISTANCE BETWEEN ITSELF AND THE REST OF THE VILLAGE, ALWAYS, RIGHT FROM THE DAY IT WAS CONSTRUCTED, OR WAS IT BEFORE CONSTRUCTION ITSELF? ALWAYS IN SECLUSION, ALWAYS WRAPPED IN THE MYSTIC LAYERS, PASSING THROUGH VARIOUS PHASES OF PROSPERITY AND DECLINE, STILL MAINTAINING THE SAME DISTANCE FROM THE VILLAGERS. THE PEOPLE STAYING HERE, WHAT ARE THEY MADE UP OFF? DO THEY HAVE TENDER MINDS? WHY ARE THEY SO STONEFACED? AND HOW IS IT THAT ONE DAY THEY DISCOVER THE TENDER FEELING OF LOVE? THE CURSED PALACE KEEPS ON MOVING ON THE UNFATHOMABLE ROADS YET VERY SWIFTLY ENGULFS THE READERS IN ITS INTERIORS.

The book collects 15 short stories written by famous American writers, including Washington Irving, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Richard Stockton, Mark Twain, Francis Bret Harte, O. Henry, Stephen Crane, Jack London, etc. These short stores reflect the social realities of early stage of America.

The Great Stone Face By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne born Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4, 1804 - May 19, 1864) was an American novelist, Dark Romantic, and short story writer. He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts, to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a "w" to make his name "Hawthorne" in order to hide this relation. He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1824, 1] and graduated in 1825. Hawthorne published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828; he later tried to suppress it, feeling it was not equal to the standard of his later work. 2] He published several short stories in periodicals, which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at the Boston Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist 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 as consul took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to Concord in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his wife and their three children.