Tanglewood Tales

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American writer of the Romantic period. He achieved world renown with his often allegorical novels and short stories. From 1840 he belonged to the circle of Transcendentalists and became friends with George Ripley, Henry David Thoreau and Ralph Waldo Emerson. In 1842 he married Sophia Peabody, a painter who also belonged to the Transcendentalist Club, and with whom he had three children and a happy marriage until his death. Even during his lifetime, Hawthorne was canonized as the founder of a genuinely American literature. He is considered one of the most important American writers.