The Scarlet Letter,
The House of the Seven Gables, "Young Goodman Brown," and "Rappaccini's Daughter" are staples of high school English classes across the country. Nathaniel Hawthorne's works and characters have left a lasting impression on writers, scholars, and readers around the world.
Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne offers critical entries on Hawthorne's novels, short stories, travel writing, criticism, and other works, as well as portraits of characters, including Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth. This comprehensive reference also provides entries on Hawthorne's family, friends ranging from Herman Melville to President Franklin Pierce publishers, and critics, as well as periodicals that published his work and important places and events in his life. Covering everything of importance in Nathaniel Hawthorne's life and work, this invaluable guide offers a complete view of this revered author.
Coverage includes:- A biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Entries on his works, both major and minor, including critical surveys and coverage of major characters
- Entries on family, friends, places, critics, and more
- Appendixes, including full texts of important contemporary reviews (including Edgar Allan Poe's famous review of Twice-Told Tales), a bibliography, a chronology of Hawthorne's life, and more.
The Critical Companion series examines the lives and works of the writers most studied by high-school and college students. The expertly written and accessible volume on Hawthorne follows a similar format: introduction; biography; critique of selected works;
A-Z dictionary of related people, places, and other topics; appendixes; and index. Wright intends
Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne as "a comprehensive guide to Hawthorne's life and work, with particular attention to the tales and novels that students read most often in high-school and college classes." Entries in the alphabetically arranged "Works A-Z" section range from a short paragraph (
The Old-Fashioned School) to some 20 pages (
The Scarlet Letter). Longer works are given a detailed synopsis, followed by shorter sections on reception and critical analysis and on characters. Appendixes include chronologies of Hawthorne's life and major works; a selected bibliography of secondary sources; contemporary reviews; "Melville and Hawthorne," containing two Hawthorne-related items written by Melville; and "Henry James on Hawthorne," with excerpts from James' book-length study.
The volumes are well supplemented throughout by black-and-white illustrations and recommendations for further reading. Highly recommended for high-school and academic libraries. Craig Bunch
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