Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of American literature's greatest luminaries, and was instrumental in the formation of the American literary canon. This edition seeks to introduce readers to what has been called his “masterwork”, The Scarlet Letter, along with a choice selection of his short stories. Meticulously edited and annotated, this book features a detailed introduction providing contextual and thematic information, and employs contemporary critical perspectives. Supplemented with erudite critical essays by R. K. Gupta and Nina Baym, this edition of Hawthorne's key writings brings the texts and their contexts closer to the reader.
Preface
Introduction
The Puritanical Heritage and New England
American Transcendentalism
The Life and Art of Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter and the Spirit of American Transcendentalism
The Legacy of The Scarlet Letter
Notes
The Scarlet Letter
Preface to the Second Edition
The Custom-House
Other Writings
Mrs. Hutchinson
Young Goodman Brown
The Minister’s Black Veil
The Birthmark
Notes and Annotations
Critical Readings
Kalidasa’s Sakuntala and Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
R. K. Gupta
Revisiting Hawthorne’s Feminism
Nina Baym
Selected Bibliography