The Great Stone Face

by The Perfect Library (Editor), Nathaniel Hawthorne

Overview

"The Great Stone Face" from Nathaniel Hawthorne. American novelist and short story writer (1804-1864).

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781511857017
Publisher:	CreateSpace Publishing
Publication date:	04/22/2015
Pages:	56
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.12(d)
Age Range:	6 - 9 Years

About the Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne (born Nathaniel Hathorne; July 4, 1804 - May 19, 1864) was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer.He was born in 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts to Nathaniel Hathorne and the former Elizabeth Clarke Manning. His ancestors include John Hathorne, the only judge involved in the Salem witch trials who never repented of his actions. Nathaniel later added a "w" to make his name "Hawthorne" in order to hide this relation.He entered Bowdoin College in 1821, was elected to Phi Beta Kappa in 1824, and graduated in 1825. He published his first work in 1828, the novel Fanshawe; he later tried to suppress it, feeling that it was not equal to the standard of his later work. He published several short stories in periodicals, which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at the Boston Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord,

Editorial Reviews

Two thousand five marks the 200th anniversary of the discovery of the Old Man of the Mountain, the long surviving humanlike profile carved in red granite on New Hampshire's Cannon Mountain. Until it collapsed in May 2003, the Great Stone Face had been the state's pride. Indeed, Daniel Webster detected evidence of divine intervention: "God Almighty Himself has hung a sign that here in New Hampshire, he makes men." Nathaniel Hawthorne, in the charming story reprinted here, sensed in it "a work of Nature in her mood of majestic playfulness."

Gary D. Schmidt retells Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Great Stone Face, illus. by Bill Farnsworth, about a village prophecy that a man will be born with the likeness of the visage etched into the stone cliff that stretches above their valley and "will be the noblest person of his time." Only young Ethan and the town pastor still have faith in the prophecy. The artist's luminous oil paintings convey the lush valley as well as the quiet leadership that emanates from Ethan over the years-until readers themselves will recognize, as Ethan's granddaughter does, that the prophecy has indeed been fulfilled.

Publishers Weekly

Gr 2-5-The Great Stone Face (more commonly referred to today as "The Old Man of the Mountains) juts out from the White Mountains of New Hampshire and looms over a small village. An old prophecy states that: "Someone will be born hereabouts who will look just like the Great Stone Face, and he will be the noblest person of his time." Like many others, young Ethan watches the faces of returning famous men for signs of the gentle wisdom seen in the face. The rich merchant, however, is grasping, the soldier only stern, and the politician-well, a politician. Ethan, meanwhile, works hard on his farm, and is looked up to by his neighbors for the thoughtful counsel he offers. When he is an old man, people remark that they fear they will never see the prophecy fulfilled. Ethan's granddaughter, touching his face, remarks that it was fulfilled long ago. Schmidt has done a credible job of retelling Hawthorne's classic tale, eliminating flowery language, and rendering it accessible for a new generation. While the story is intrinsically a teaching tool, this retelling avoids didacticism and lets the events speak for themselves. Farnsworth's oil paintings do a fine job of capturing the beauty of the New England landscape. There is a still, slightly hazy quality to them that is entirely appropriate to the meditative tone of the book. This thoughtful look at what it means to live a good life is as relevant today as when first written.-Grace Oliff, Ann Blanche Smith School, Hillsdale, NJ Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information.

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