Nathanial Hawthorne

Gordon Tapper

Light Paperback (1 lb or less)

Greed, treachery, mesmerism, and murder are just some of the bricks Hawthorne uses to build The House of the Seven Gables. Generations before the present story begins, wealthy Colonel Pyncheon covets Matthew Maule's land. When Maule is hanged for witchcraft, he puts a curse on the Colonel--and all his descendants. Now the menacing Judge Pyncheon continues the family tradition of hiding cruelty under a dazzling smile, while his scowling niece, Hepzibah, and half-mad nephew, Clifford, are reduced to poverty by his machinations. But the younger generation, embodied in their distant cousin, Phoebe, becomes a ray of hope penetrating the dark house. Though Hawthorne openly discusses his book's moral" in its preface, The House of the Seven Gables is no dry sermon. In fact, a strong stream of poetic fantasy runs through it, which the author acknowledges by calling it a romance," rather than a novel. Like his other great works, The House of the Seven Gables reflects Hawthorne's rich understanding of complex motives, of individuals caught in the unending struggle between our highest aspirations and our basest desires.

The House of the Seven Gables

d6db33b9-6ccf-4e5d-9002-a2e2d417a4e7-1

Nathaniel Hawthorne; George Parsons Lathrop (Introduction by)

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Henry James

Reader’s Digest Edition 1985

Beautiful book in great condition! 

Light Hardcover (1 lb or less)

Washington

First published in 1851, "The House of the Seven Gables" is Nathaniel Hawthorne's gothic novel which follows the fates of a New England family and their ancestral home. Inspired by a house in Salem Massachusetts which had belonged to the ancestors of Nathaniel Hawthorne who had played a part in the Salem Witch Trials, "The House of the Seven Gables" is the story of Hepzibah Pyncheon and her brother Clifford who has recently been released from prison after serving a thirty-three year sentence for murder. According to legend the mansion, which is built upon land acquired through unscrupulous circumstances by Hepzibah and Clifford's ancestor Colonel Pyncheon, carries with it a curse on the Pyncheons, following the family through the many generations that inherit it. Hawthorne brilliantly uses this curse to create a gloomy forbidding atmosphere around the Pyncheons and the house that they inhabit. As the novel draws to its conclusion the reader is filled with the suspenseful question as to whether or not Hepzibah and Clifford will be the final victims of the curse or if it is all just a silly superstition.

Category - Fiction / Classics

Format - Paperback

Condition - Good

Listed - 4 days ago

Views - 2

Est. Publication Date - Feb 2007