
The Blithedale Romance
$25.75
- Paperback
304 pages
- Release Date
25 August 1983
Summary
A superb depiction of a utopian community that cannot survive the individual passions of its members.
In language that is suggestive and often erotic, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a tale of failed possibilities and multiple personal betrayals as he explores the contrasts between what his characters espouse and what they actually experience in an ‘ideal’ community. A theme of unrealized sexual possibilities serves as a counterpoint to the other failures at Blithedale: class and sex distin…
Book Details
| ISBN-13: | 9780140390285 |
|---|---|
| ISBN-10: | 0140390286 |
| Author: | Nathaniel Hawthorne, Annette Kolodny |
| Publisher: | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Imprint: | Penguin Books Ltd |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Number of Pages: | 304 |
| Release Date: | 25 August 1983 |
| Weight: | 223g |
| Dimensions: | 18mm x 130mm x 196mm |
| Series: | Penguin Classics |

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Critics Review
“Hawthorne, in putting this novel together, was engaged in the most serious literary enterprise of his career.” –Louis Auchincloss
“Hawthorne, in putting this novel together, was engaged in the most serious literary enterprise of his career.”
–Louis Auchincloss
Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804, in Salem, Massachusetts. He was the son and grandson of New England seafarers. Hawthorne grew up in genteel poverty with his widowed mother and two young sisters.
In 1825, he graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine. He then returned to Salem, determined to become a writer of short stories. For the next twelve years, he struggled to master his craft, experiencing unhappiness and self-doubt. His first collection of short stories, Twice-Told Tales, was published in 1837, bringing him some measure of success.
Hawthorne married Sophia Peabody in 1842, and they had a happy marriage. His novel The Scarlet Letter was published in 1850, earning him immediate recognition. This was followed by The House of the Seven Gables in 1851.
After serving as the American Consul in Liverpool, England, for four years, Hawthorne traveled in Italy. He returned to Massachusetts in 1860.
Depressed, weary of writing, and in failing health, Nathaniel Hawthorne died on May 19, 1864, in Plymouth, New Hampshire.
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