Nathaniel Hawthorne
Biography
Nathaniel Hawthorne, (born July 4, 1804, Salem, Mass., U.S.- died May 19, 1864, Plymouth, N.H.), American novelist and short-story writer who was a master of the allegorical and symbolic tale. One of the greatest fiction writers in American literature, he is best known for The Scarlet Letter (1850) and The House of the Seve Gables (1851).
Ancestral Heritage
Nathaniel Hawthorne´s life was steeped in the Puritan legacy. An early ancestor, William Hathorne, first emigrated from England to America in 1630 and settled in Salem, Massachusetts, where he became a judge known for his harsh sentencing. William´s son, John Hathorne, was one of the three judges during the Salem Witch Trials in the 1960s. Nathaniel later added a "w" to his name to distance himself from this side of the family.
The Golden Years of Writing
During these years Hawthorne was to write some of the greatest prose of his life. In 1849, Hawthorne wrote The Scarlet Letter, which won him much fame and greatly increased his reputation. While warmly received here and abroad, The Scarlet Letter sold only 8,000 copies in Hawthorne´s lifetime.
In 1849, when the family moved to Lennox, Massachusetts, Hawthorne made the acquaintance of Herman Melville, a young writer who became a good friend. Hawthorne encouraged the young Melville, who later thanked him by dedicating his book, Moby Dick, to him. During this, the "Little Red House" period in Lennox - Hawthorne wrote The House of the Seven Gables and some minor works that were published in 1851.