Critical companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne

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"Author of such classics as The Scarlet Letter, The House of the Seven Gables, "Young Goodman Brown," and "Rappaccini's Daughter," Nathaniel Hawthorne was intrigued by the social and psychological aspects of human behavior. He influenced the artistic development of many of the most important American writers, and today his works are some of the most widely read and taught in the canon of American literature." "Critical Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne examines the life and work of a writer whose exploration of such universal topics as birth, death, love, and guilt still resonates with modern readers. This comprehensive, single-volume reference contains hundreds of entries, including: an in-depth biography of Hawthorne; snyopses and critical assessments of Hawthorne's major and minor works, as well as portraits of characters, such as Hester Prynne and Roger Chillingworth; profiles of significant members of Hawthorne's family and social circle, which included Herman Melville and President Franklin Pierce; analyses of the culture, times, and places in which Hawthorne lived and wrote; and useful and thorough appendices, including full texts of important contemporary reviews (such as Edgar Allen Poe's famous review of Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales), a bibliography, a chronology of Hawthorne's life, and more."--Jacket.