Hawthorne

James, Henry, 1843-1916Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.0

Word count: 326K words
Chapters: 33

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Hawthorne by Henry JamesAuthor: James, Henry, 1843-1916,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Jun 12, 2006

Editor's review

This is a critical biography of Nathaniel Hawthorne by Henry James, a study of a writer rather than an ordinary biography. James examines his predecessor's work and the New England cultural milieu with a novelist's eye, offering both specific assessments of individual works and judgments on Puritan tradition and the situation of American literature, including views that have often been quoted since. Its value lies in this duality: on one hand it helps readers understand the themes and style of Hawthorne's work, on the other it reflects James's own literary tastes and critical method. The prose is elegant and the judgments sharp, but it has the unhurried pace of nineteenth-century criticism and requires patience. It suits reading alongside Hawthorne's works, or as a case study in the history of American literary criticism; those seeking only anecdotes about Hawthorne's life may find it not to their expectations.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers currently reading Hawthorne's works who need a critical perspective
Scholars studying the history of American literary criticism and writer studies
Readers interested in Henry James's critical prose
Students and advanced readers of English and American literature

Not a good fit for

Readers who want only stories of Hawthorne's life and care nothing for analysis of his works
Beginner readers seeking light introductory reading
Readers expecting a systematic textbook of literary theory

Reading tips

Read Hawthorne's major works first, then compare the relevant chapters of this book to understand what the criticism refers to.
Note James's judgments on Puritan tradition and the American literary environment, and take excerpts for comparison.
Read in sections by chapter, writing a few lines of your own agreement or disagreement after each.
Read alongside a chronology of Hawthorne's life, and avoid treating a critical biography as a complete biography.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a biography of Hawthorne?

It is closer to a critical biography of a writer, focused on analyzing Hawthorne's works and literary environment rather than narrating his life year by year. James discusses Hawthorne's writing characteristics, choice of subjects, and New England cultural background as a critic, with biographical information only auxiliary. For a complete life of Hawthorne, you need another biography; for understanding his works and their place in criticism, this book is well suited.

Can I read it without having read Hawthorne's works?

You can, but you will get less out of it. The book discusses specific works and characters at length, and without having read the originals it is hard to judge whether James's assessments hold. It is best to read at least The Scarlet Letter and two or three short stories first; that way you can follow the argument and keep your own impressions to compare with James's views.

How difficult is the English of this book?

James's style is elegant, with many long sentences and parenthetical insertions; the critical terminology is not especially abstruse, but the syntax is convoluted. Readers with university-level English can make progress, but slowly. Read chapter by chapter, go through a passage once before revisiting difficult sentences, and do not analyze word by word; keep a simple index of work titles and place names to avoid repeated searching.

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About the author

James, Henry, 1843-1916 Author

Henry James (1843–1916) was a novelist born in the United States who later became a British citizen, known for his psychological realism. He advances his narratives through his characters' consciousness and moral dilemmas, in a delicate, restrained style with carefully crafted sentences, often using limited points of view to leave meaningful gaps. His works frequently explore themes such as the collision between European and American cultures, marriage and freedom, and innocence versus worldly sophistication. The collection holds 81 of his works, including the two-volume The Portrait of a Lady, The Ambassadors, The Wings of the Dove, The Golden Bowl, The Beast in the Jungle, and the novella The Turn of the Screw. These works range from novels to novellas and show his fine, detailed portrayal of inner life across different lengths. Public information is limited, so biographical details are omitted, but these works alone reveal his important place in the tradition of psychological narrative in English literature.