The Dolliver Romance

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

Rating 3.1
Word count
97K words
Chapters
10

Tags

English Originals Foreign Literature Suspense ThrillerFamily SecretLove EntanglementsHuman NatureYears of VicissitudePsychological InsightMoral DilemmaGothic EchoesAmerican LiteratureUnfinished Work

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.The Dolliver Romance by Nathaniel HawthorneAuthor: Hawthorne, Nathaniel, 1804-1864,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Dec 1, 2004

Editor's review

The Dolliver Romance is an unfinished late manuscript of a novel by Hawthorne, centering on an old apothecary and themes of family lineage, time, and death. It retains Hawthorne's characteristic symbolism and New England setting, with a quiet and somewhat mysterious atmosphere. Because it is a fragment, the plot does not conclude; what readers get is more an atmospheric opening and a slice of the author's late thought. Its value lies not in a complete story but in presenting Hawthorne's late reflections on aging, continuity, and moral responsibility, as well as changes in his craft. Suitable for readers interested in American Romanticism, Hawthorne's creative history, or the study of unfinished texts. Read it as research material rather than a novel for entertainment, and pay attention to the thematic directions suggested by imagery and character arrangement.

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Reading tips

  1. Learn about Hawthorne's life and late creative background first; the fragment will then be easier to grasp thematically
  2. While reading, mark recurring images and character relationships, and speculate on the direction the author might have taken
  3. Read it alongside Hawthorne's completed novels to observe changes in his late style
  4. Treat it as a research text and consult related criticism afterward to fill in the unfinished parts

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.

Contents

  1. 1
  2. 2
  3. 3
  4. 4
  5. 5
  6. 6
  7. 7
  8. 8
  9. 9
  10. 10

FAQ

Is this a complete novel? No. It is an unfinished late manuscript of a novel by Hawthorne; the plot breaks off midway and has no complete ending. What readers get is an opening with a strong atmosphere and thematic suggestions, more suitable as research material than as leisure reading that seeks narrative completeness.
Can I read this without having read other works by Hawthorne? You can, but understanding will be limited. The work involves Hawthorne's customary symbolism and New England background; if you have read his major works first, it is easier to see changes in his late thought and style. Readers new to Hawthorne are advised to start with his major works.
What is the reading value of the fragment? Its value lies in presenting the author's late concerns and craft: reflections on aging, family continuity, and moral responsibility, and the use of symbolic imagery. For readers studying Hawthorne's creative history or unfinished texts, it offers a window of observation beyond his formal works.

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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.