Nathaniel+Hawthorne+by+Tanner+Lillicrap


 * Born July 4, 1804.
 * Died May 19, 1864


 * Childhood/Family Life**

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born in Salem, Massachusetts, to a Puritan family. Two major influences on the workings of his mind included the religious persecution his family escaped from in England and the witch trials that were preformed in Salem. One of his ancestors had actually been a judge at these trials. When he was four, his father died leaving his family to fend for themselves with the support of relatives. Shortly afterwards, Hawthorne suffered a leg injury that forced him to be immobile for a period of time in which he discovered his hunger for literature. He had a relatively relaxed childhood altogether despite his father's death. After returning from college, he spent twelve years in seclusion in his mother's house. This was when he perfected his writing style.


 * Personality of the Author**
 * seemed to be paranoid (regretted not taking letter to post by himself)
 * viewed life very drearily
 * had some positive aspects about him that bled through in his writing including his activites such as gardening and art
 * not shy in public
 * pessimistic

While in school at Bowdoin College, Hawthorne studied with famous poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future president Franklin Pierce. Shortly after graduating, he changed the original spelling of his name from "Hathorne" to "Hawthorne" so that people would not mispronounce it. Herman Melville dedicated his book __Moby Dick__ to Hawthorne.
 * Famous Writings**
 * __The Scarlet Letter__
 * __The House of the Seven Gables__
 * __Doctor Grimshawe's Street__
 * Anything Else of Interest**

[|Source 1] [|Source 2] [|Source 3]