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Hawthorne in Concord: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
4/5
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A richly textured account of the writer’s three sojourns in New England “illuminates Hawthorne’s art and the intellectual ferment originating in that small, bucolic town” (Publishers Weekly).
On his wedding day in 1842, Nathaniel Hawthorne escorted his new wife, Sophia, to their first home, the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts. There, enriched by friendships with Thoreau and Emerson, he enjoyed an idyllic time. But three years later, unable to make enough money from his writing, he returned ingloriously, with his wife and infant daughter, to live in his mother’s home in Salem.
In 1853, Hawthorne moved back to Concord, now the renowned author of The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. Eager to resume writing fiction at the scene of his earlier happiness, he assembled a biography of his college friend Franklin Pierce, who was running for president. When Pierce won the election, Hawthorne was appointed the lucrative post of consul in Liverpool.
Coming home from Europe in 1860, Hawthorne settled down in Concord once more. He tried to take up writing one last time, but deteriorating health found him withdrawing into private life. In Hawthorne in Concord, acclaimed historian Philip McFarland paints a revealing portrait of this well-loved American author during three distinct periods of his life, spent in the bucolic village of Concord, Massachusetts.
“I don’t know when I have read a book as satisfying as Hawthorne in Concord.” —David Herbert Donald
On his wedding day in 1842, Nathaniel Hawthorne escorted his new wife, Sophia, to their first home, the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts. There, enriched by friendships with Thoreau and Emerson, he enjoyed an idyllic time. But three years later, unable to make enough money from his writing, he returned ingloriously, with his wife and infant daughter, to live in his mother’s home in Salem.
In 1853, Hawthorne moved back to Concord, now the renowned author of The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables. Eager to resume writing fiction at the scene of his earlier happiness, he assembled a biography of his college friend Franklin Pierce, who was running for president. When Pierce won the election, Hawthorne was appointed the lucrative post of consul in Liverpool.
Coming home from Europe in 1860, Hawthorne settled down in Concord once more. He tried to take up writing one last time, but deteriorating health found him withdrawing into private life. In Hawthorne in Concord, acclaimed historian Philip McFarland paints a revealing portrait of this well-loved American author during three distinct periods of his life, spent in the bucolic village of Concord, Massachusetts.
“I don’t know when I have read a book as satisfying as Hawthorne in Concord.” —David Herbert Donald
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Reviews for Hawthorne in Concord
Rating: 4.1363639090909095 out of 5 stars
4/5
11 ratings4 reviews
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5What makes this book stand out among a sea of Hawthorne biographies is McFarland's impressive ability to put Hawthorne in context. Though the title is "Hawthorne in Concord," the book takes us through all of Hawthorne's life, from Salem to Boston and even overseas. It also introduces us to contemporary happenings related to Franklin Pierce, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Margaret Fuller, Edgar Poe, and the house of Ticknor and Fields. McFarland succeeds at taking the often-isolated Hawthorne (whose shyness kept society and companionship at an arm's reach) and putting him back into the world in which he was living.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Book enhanced my knowledge of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Thought it was very well researched; however, the author would mention incidents in one chapter and then present them in another as if they had not been previously mentioned. It was confusing until I caught on to his style.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A well written biography of one of this country’s most noted writers. The work centers on Hawthorne’s years in Concord, Mass. during the time he struggled to support a family on the meager earnings from his writing, even the works that made him an American icon like “Scarlet Letter.” McFarland writes the candid story of Hawthorne’s sad life during his later years. Pictures of him early in life and those later, even though Hawthorne died at the relatively young age of 59, are a stark contrast reflecting the torment he went through. Those not familiar with Concord and its history in American literature will be amazed that so many literary giants lived in this tiny town at the same time. A trip to Concord, if you have any interest in the Transcendentalists, is well worth the time and effort. You’ve visit all of these people in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. I think this book’s audience is anyone who cares about American literature and wants to learn more about one of its most important writers.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A well written biography of one of this country’s most noted writers. The work centers on Hawthorne’s years in Concord, Mass. during the time he struggled to support a family on the meager earnings from his writing, even the works that made him an American icon like “Scarlet Letter.” McFarland writes the candid story of Hawthorne’s sad life during his later years. Pictures of him early in life and those later, even though Hawthorne died at the relatively young age of 59, are a stark contrast reflecting the torment he went through. Those not familiar with Concord and its history in American literature will be amazed that so many literary giants lived in this tiny town at the same time. A trip to Concord, if you have any interest in the Transcendentalists, is well worth the time and effort. You’ve visit all of these people in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. I think this book’s audience is anyone who cares about American literature and wants to learn more about one of its most important writers.
Book preview
Hawthorne in Concord - Philip McFarland
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