Nathaniel Hawthorne

Born in Salem, Massachusetts He was a descendant of a prominent Puritan family—these ancestors included a judge known for his persecution of the Quakers and a judge who played an important role in the Salem witchcraft trials Hawthorne felt guilty for his ancestors actions. This shaped his character and his writing

He graduated from Bowdoin College in Maine in 1825 After graduation he lived in his mother’s house in Salem for twelve years, devoting his energy to developing his skills as a writer In 1837 he published his first collection of stories, Twice-Told Tales, which sold poorly but established him as a respected writer

After moving out of his mother’s house, he lived briefly at Brook Farm, a Transcendentalist commune In 1842 he married Sophia Peabody and moved to the Old Manse at Concord, Massachusetts where Ralph Waldo Emerson had lived

Hawthorne moved back to Salem to work in a political position, but was forced out of office when there was a change in administration Hawthorne then concentrated on his literary career again

In 1850 he published The Scarlet Letter, which was extremely successful and made him famous When Franklin Pierce, a college friend of Hawthorne’s, became President he made Hawthorne the American consul at Liverpool, England Hawthorne spent several years in England and Italy, and then returned home to Massachusetts Four years after his final novel was published, Hawthorne died in his sleep