Nathaniel Hawthorne was the first American writer to gain international critical recognition as a great master of prose fiction. His works are noted for their psychological probing into human nature. His stories and sketches reveal themes central to Hawthorne’s imagination. Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. His father died of yellow fever when Nathaniel was only four years old, leaving him with his mom and two sisters in financial need. Nathaniel’…showed first 75 words of 799 total…

…showed last 75 words of 799 total…Hawthorne’s weakness and health was fading rapidly and mysteriously. He was still able to salvage some of the material in his English journals. He had attempted to write more, but his imagination of literature was being less successful. He had dedicated Our Old Home to Franklin Pierce in 1863. In 1864, Franklin Pierce took Hawthorne on a trip to the mountains, but on the way there, at Plymouth, New Hampshire early in the morning, on May 19, 1864,