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Nathaniel Hawthorne

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From: The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition
Date: 20080415
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Nathaniel Hawthorne 1804-64, American novelist and short-story writer, b. Salem, Mass., one of the great masters of American fiction. His novels and tales are penetrating explorations of moral and spiritual conflicts.

Early Life and Works

Descended from a prominent Puritan family, Hawthorne was the son of a sea captain who died when Nathaniel was 4 years old. When he was 14 he and his mother moved to a lonely farm in Maine. After attending Bowdoin College (1821-25), he devoted himself to writing. His first novel, Fanshawe (1829), published anonymously, was unsuccessful. His short ...

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