P.'s Correspondence

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.4

Word count: 39K words
Chapters: 4

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.P.'s Correspondence (From "Mosses from an Old Manse") by Nathaniel HawthorneAuthor: Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Nov 1, 2005

Editor's review

This is a short work from Hawthorne's Mosses from an Old Manse, unfolding in epistolary form and bearing his signature allegorical color and psychological suspense. Though brief, it creates a tension between reality and illusion within a limited narrative space, making it a good introductory sample of Hawthorne's short fiction style. The public-domain electronic edition from Project Gutenberg makes it easy to consult and compare with the original text at any time, suitable for classroom discussion or personal annotated reading. Note that this is the original English edition, written in the nineteenth-century American prose tradition, with long sentences and allusions and period background that require some prior knowledge. Readers expecting a tightly plotted popular story may find the pace slow; but those willing to read closely for its symbolism and irony will appreciate Hawthorne's distinctive treatment of human nature and imagination.

Who it's for

A good fit for

English-literature readers who want to understand Hawthorne's short fiction style
Students who need original English materials for classroom discussion or paper citations
Readers who enjoy epistolary narration and allegorical short stories
Readers who want to approach nineteenth-century American literature through short works

Not a good fit for

Readers of popular fiction expecting fast pacing and strong dramatic conflict
Readers with weak English reading skills who are unused to nineteenth-century long sentences
Readers who only want a Chinese translation and are unwilling to compare with the English original

Reading tips

First read through to grasp the overall framework of the epistolary narration, then go back to read key passages closely for symbolism and irony.
While reading, note the narrator's shifts in tone and observe how Hawthorne uses the letter form to create an effect in which reality and illusion are hard to distinguish.
Read alongside other short pieces in Mosses from an Old Manse to observe recurring themes in Hawthorne's short fiction.
If used for class or a paper, mark original page numbers and key quotations for later citation and discussion.

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 in Chinese or English?

This is the original English-language e-book released by Project Gutenberg, in English, a public-domain work available for free. It contains no Chinese translation, so readers need some English reading ability.

What is the relationship between this work and Mosses from an Old Manse?

According to the information provided, this work is labeled as one piece from Mosses from an Old Manse, belonging to Hawthorne's short-story collection. Readers may treat it as a single selection from that collection rather than a standalone long work.

Can I read it directly without having read other works by Hawthorne?

Yes. This is a short work of limited length that does not depend on background knowledge from other works. However, Hawthorne's narration often carries allegorical and symbolic color, so on a first reading you may need to slow down and pay attention to the narrator's tone and suggestive details.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864 Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was an American novelist known for his engagement with Puritan tradition and moral allegory. He wrote about sin, guilt, confession, and social prejudice in a restrained style with vivid imagery, often using historical settings and legendary tales to reveal the subtleties of human nature. The collection here holds 98 of his works, including the frequently translated novel The Scarlet Letter, the short-story collection Twice-Told Tales, and children's books drawn from myth and legend such as A Wonder Book for Girls & Boys, Tanglewood Tales, The Gorgon's Head, and The Three Golden Apples, showing his dual interest in New England history and classical myth. His writing has had a lasting influence on American literature's treatment of conscience and identity. Publicly available details of his life are limited, so they are not elaborated here.