Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, the only son and second child of Nathaniel and Elizabeth Manning Hawthorne (the “w” in is last name was added when he became an adult). At the age of four, he lost his father, who was diagnosed with yellow fever and died in Suriname, Dutch Guiana. After his father death his mother, Elizabeth Manning Hawthorne took Nathaniel and his two sisters, Elisabeth and Louisa, to live with Elizabeth’s family in Salem, Massachusetts.

In 1818, when Nathaniel was fourteen he and his family moved to Raymond,

Maine, where the Manning family owned a home. A year later Nathaniel moved back to

Salem, where he attended Samuel Archer’s school. A couple years later, after being

privately tutored by Benjamin L. Oliver, he enrolled at Bowdoin College in Brunswick,

Maine where he earned his bachelors degree. Hawthorne’s classmates included Henry

Wadsworth Longfellow and Franklin Pierce, who would become the future president of,

The United States, Pierce was one of Hawthorne’s closest friends.

After graduating from college, Hawthorne moved back in with his mother and

continued writing. He strengthened his writing skills by writing short stories and poems.

In 1828, Hawthorne had published his first novel independently called: Fanshawe: A

Tale. Disappointed with the outcome of the book he evoked the book and nearly

destroyed every copy.

During the next few years, Hawthorne began writing in various literary journals including

The Token and The Salem Gazette. In 1836, Hawthorne was given the opportunity to edit

The American Magazine of Useful and Entertaining Knowledge. He moved to Boston to

work as an editor, along with sister on Peter Parley’s Universal History on the Basis of

Geography. In March 1837, his collections of short stories and sketches, Twice-Told

Tales, was published.

Later that year in November, Hawthorne met Sophia Peabody, and they became

engaged in 1838. Hawthorne realized that he wouldn’t be able to support him and Sophia

off his writings, and delayed their wedding for several years . He then applied for, and

received a government job working as an in inspector in the Boston Custom House. His

new job paid well, but Hawthorne was forced to work long hours, which made it difficult

to write. He still managed to publish a book of historical stories for children called

Grandfather’s Chair, as well as Famous Old People and Liberty Tree.

After to years of anguish and not having enough time to write he left the Custom

House. He moved to Brook Farm, an experimental Utopian community based on

Transcendentalist and Socialist (transcendentalists believed that humanity could become

perfect on this earth) philosophy. He left the farm for the same reason he left the Custom

House: he found it too difficult to write.

On July 9, 1842, Nathaniel Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody after a four year

relationship. He and his new wife moved to the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts,

where his writing career flourished and became full time. In 1844 Nathaniel and Sophia

had their first child Una. A year later financial problems arose and forced Hawthorne and

his family to return to Salem and live with his mother and his two sisters. He began work

quickly as an editor once