Nineteenth-century novelist and short-story writer Nathaniel Hawthorne is a key figure in the development of American literature. ""The Scarlet Letter"" and ""The House of the Seven Gables"" are cited among his major achievements, along with a number of haunting short stories, such as ""The Minister's Black Veil."" Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Hawthorne was influenced by his Puritan heritage; his great-grandfather was a judge at the 1692 witch trials. Here, Harold Bloom draws on full-length essays from leading literary publications to present an in-depth understanding of the Romantic and Gothic master. This completely updated study in the acclaimed ""Bloom's Modern Critical Views"" series also includes an editor's note and introduction by Professor Bloom, offering his own insights on the author and on the critical analyses included. A listing of major works covered in the book, a helpful chronology tracing the events in Hawthorne's life, and information on the critics whose essays have been selected add further depth. Students will find this comprehensive volume makes the most of study time and serves as an excellent resource for compare-and-contrast essay assignments.

 

 

This book is part of a book series called Modern Critical Views .

There are 260 pages in this book.

It is aimed at Young Adult readers. The term Young Adult (YA) is used for books which have the following characteristics: (1) aimed at ages 12-18 years, US grades 7-12, UK school years 8-15, (2) around 50-75k words long, (3) main character is aged 12-18 years, (4) topics include self-reflection, internal conflict vs external, analyzing life and its meaning, (5) point of view is often in the first person, and (6) swearing, violence, romance and sexuality are allowed.

This book was published in 2006 by Chelsea House Publishers .

Harold Bloom is Sterling Professor of the Humanities at Yale University.