Nathaniel Hawthorne

Biographical Stories is a classic biography collection by the great American writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne that includes the following biographical sketches for young people: Benjamin West -- Sir Isaac Newton -- Samuel Johnson -- Oliver Cromwell -- Benjamin Franklin -- Queen Christina. This small volume and others of a similar character, from the same hand, have not been composed without a deep sense of responsibility. The author regards children as sacred, and would not, for the world, cast anything into the fountain of a young heart that might imbitter and pollute its waters. And, even in point of the reputation to be aimed at, juvenile literature is as well worth cultivating as any other. The writer, if he succeed in pleasing his little readers, may hope to be remembered by them till their own old age, --a far longer period of literary existence than is generally attained by those who seek immortality from the judgments of full-grown men.

"We dream in our waking moments, and walk in our sleep." --- Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet Letter The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. Critical response On its publication, critic Evert Augustus Duyckinck, a friend of Hawthorne's, said he preferred the author's Washington Irving-like tales. Another friend, critic Edwin Percy Whipple, objected to the novel's "morbid intensity" with dense psychological details, writing that the book "is therefore apt to become, like Hawthorne, too painfully anatomical in his exhibition of them." Most literary critics praised the book but religious leaders took issue with the novel's subject matter. Orestes Brownson complained that Hawthorne did not understand Christianity, confession, and remorse. A review in The Church Review and Ecclesiastical Register concluded the author "perpetrates bad morals." On the other hand, 20th-century writer D. H. Lawrence said that there could not be a more perfect work of the American imagination than The Scarlet Letter. Henry James once said of the novel, "It is beautiful, admirable, extraordinary; it has in the highest degree that merit which I have spoken of as the mark of Hawthorne's best things-an indefinable purity and lightness of conception... One can often return to it; it supports familiarity and has the inexhaustible charm and mystery of great works of art." The book's immediate and lasting success are due to the way it addresses spiritual and moral issues from a uniquely American standpoint. citation needed] In 1850, adultery was an extremely risqu subject, but because Hawthorne had the support of the New England literary establishment, it passed easily into the realm of appropriate reading. It has been said who?] that this work represents the height of Hawthorne's literary genius, dense with terse descriptions. It remains relevant for its philosophical and psychological depth, and continues to be read as a classic tale on a universal theme.

Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. She will not reveal her lover's identity, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. The Scarlet Letter published in 1850, is an American novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and is considered to be his magnum opus. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explores questions of grace, legalism, sin and guilt.

Having been found guilty of adultery, Hester Prynne is forced to wear an embroidered scarlet letter A as a punishment for her sin. While her vengeful husband embarks on a quest to discover the identity of her lover, she is left to face the consequences of her infidelity and find a place for herself and her illegitimate child in the hostile environment of seventeenth-century Puritan Boston. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s tense narrative astonished readers with its unparalleled psychological depth when it first appeared, and the novel now stands as one of America’s literary landmarks.