Mosses from an Old Manse and Other Stories (Annotated)

by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Overview

Mosses from an Old Manse was a short story collection by Nathaniel Hawthorne, first published in 1846. It features several famous stories of Hawthorne.

Many of the tales collected in Mosses from an Old Manse are allegories and, typical of Hawthorne, focus on the bad side of human nature. Hawthorne's friend Herman Melville noted this aspect in his review "Hawthorne and His Mosses":

This edition has been formatted for your reader, with an active table of contents. This work has also been annotated, with additional information about the stories and the author, including an overview, background, analysis, reception, contents, biographical and bibliographical information.

Product Details

BN ID:	2940150149533
Publisher:	Bronson Tweed Publishing
Publication date:	01/16/2015
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	221 KB

About the Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist and short story writer.

He was born in 1804 around 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. Hawthorne published his first work, a novel titled Fanshawe, in 1828; he later tried to suppress it, feeling it was not equal to the standard of his later work. He published several short stories in various periodicals which he collected in 1837 as Twice-Told Tales. The next year, he became engaged to Sophia Peabody. He worked at a Custom House and joined Brook Farm, a transcendentalist community, before marrying Peabody in 1842. The couple moved to The Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, later moving to Salem, the Berkshires, then to The Wayside in Concord. The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, followed by a succession of other novels. A political appointment took Hawthorne and family to Europe before their return to The Wayside in 1860. Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, and was survived by his wife and their three children.

Date of Birth:

July 4, 1804

Date of Death:

May 19, 1864

Place of Birth:

Salem, Massachusetts

Place of Death:

Plymouth, New Hampshire

Education:

Bowdoin College, Brunswick, Maine, 1824