Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion. His themes often center on the inherent evil and sin of humanity, and his works often have moral messages and deep psychological complexity. Much of Hawthorne's writing centers on New England, many works featuring moral metaphors with an anti-Puritan inspiration. His later writings also reflect his negative view of the Transcendentalism movement. Novels Fanshawe (published anonymously, 1828) The Scarlet Letter: A Romance (1850) The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance (1851) The Blithedale Romance (1852) The Marble Faun: Or, The Romance of Monte Beni (1860) The Dolliver Romance (1863) (unfinished) Septimius Felton; or, the Elixir of Life, (1872) Doctor Grimshawe's Secret: A romance (unfinished) (1882) Short Stories Twice-Told Tales (1837) The Whole History of Grandfather’s Chair (1840) Biographical Stories Mosses from an Old Manse (1846) Wonder Book For Girls and Boys (1851) The Snow Image and Other Twice Told Tales (1852) Tanglewood Tales For Girls and Boys (1853) The Dolliver Romance and Other Pieces, Tales and Sketches (1864) The Story Teller Sketches in Magazines (1830-1844) Poetry Address to the Moon The Darken'd Veil Earthly Pomp Forms of Heroes Go to the Grave My Low and Humble Home The Ocean Essays The British Matron: A Satire The Ancestral Footstep: Outlines of an English Romance Life Of Franklin Pierce Chiefly About War Matters Our Old Home Autobiographical Writings Letters Memoirs and Diaries
Hawthorne's early stories were collected in 1837 and published under the title "Twice-Told Tales." They include two of the stories founded on early New England annals, -- "The Gray Champion," based on a tradition of one of the judges of Charles I., and "The Maypole of Merry-Mount," in which Endicott appears as the embodiment of the Puritan spirit. Besides these are the allegories "Fancy's Show Box," "The Great Carbuncle," and " The Prophetic Pictures ; " "The Hollow of the Three Hills," one of the typical stories of witchcraft, foreshadowing some of his later and more powerful work; the curious study, "Wakefield", the popular "Rill from the Town Pump ;" the pretty' fantasy, " David Swan," in which the lighthearted boy goes on his pilgrimage unconscious of the shadows of possibilities that have fallen across his sleeping face; the pathetic story of Quaker suffering, "The Gentle Boy ; " " Dr. Heidegger's Experiment," -' touching a subject which recurs again in " Septimius Felton " and " The Dolliver Romance ;" and the light humor of "Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe,-" — thus including almost every class of subject on which he afterward touched, though in all he rose to higher levels in his later work. '