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| The House of the Seven Gables (Norton Critical Edition) | 
| Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Creator: Robert S. Levine
Publisher: W. W. Norton
Category: Book
List Price: $13.75
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 122815
Media: Paperback
Edition: 2nd
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 502
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.1
Dimensions (in): 8.4 x 4.9 x 1.1
ISBN: 0393924769
Dewey Decimal Number: 813.3
EAN: 9780393924763
ASIN: 0393924769
Publication Date: November 1, 2005
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Condition: Pages are clean (few or no markings). Back Cover and Front Cover show limited wear. Corners are slightly worn. Has a USED sticker on cover. Delivery confirmation standard. (SKU #12492-300)
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Product Description
This all-new edition of Hawthorne's celebrated 1851 novel is based on The Ohio State University Press's Centenary Edition of the Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is accompanied by thorough explanatory annotations and an insightful introduction to the novel and antebellum culture by Robert S. Levine.
"Contexts" brings together a generous selection of primary materials intended to provide readers with background on the novel's central themes. Historical documents include accounts of Salem's history by Thomas Maule, Robert Calef, Joseph B. Felt, and Charles W. Upham, which Hawthorne drew on for The House of the Seven Gables. The importance of the house in antebellum America—as a manifestation of the body, a site of genealogical history, and a symbol of the republic's middle class—is explored through the diverse writings of William Andrus Alcott, Edgar Allan Poe, and J. H. Agnew, among others. The impact of technological developments on the novel, especially of daguerreotypy, is considered through the writings of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Gustave de Beaumont, and Alexis de Tocqueville, among others. Also included are two of Hawthorne's literary sketches—"Alice Doane's Appeal" and "The Old Apple Dealer"—that demonstrate the continuity of Hawthorne's style, from his earlier periodical writing to his later career as a novelist.
"Criticism" provides a comprehensive overview of the critical commentary on the novel from its publication to the present. Among the twenty-seven critics represented are Herman Melville, Harriet Beecher Stowe, Henry James, Nina Baym, Eric Sundquist, Richard H. Millington, Alan Trachtenberg, Amy Schrager Lang, and Christopher Castiglia.
A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.
About the Series: No other series of classic texts equals the caliber of the Norton Critical Editions. Each volume combines the most authoritative text available with the comprehensive pedagogical apparatus necessary to appreciate the work fully. Careful editing, first-rate translation, and thorough explanatory annotations allow each text to meet the highest literary standards while remaining accessible to students. Each edition is printed on acid-free paper and every text in the series remains in print. Norton Critical Editions are the choice for excellence in scholarship for students at more than 2,000 universities worldwide.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Not as Good as Scarlet November 14, 2007
I found this to be much slower and generally more boring than the Scarlet Letter and many of the stories in Twice Told Tales. However, it's still Hawthorne and worth reading.
 hawthorne is great October 24, 2007
Hawthorne I believe is the best American writer of all time. Rather than romanticize the house for the purposes of story telling, he provides us with more of a lesson in community, law and history while putting the house of seven gables in such a perspective.
His style is magnificent and he never strays from his purpose of uplifting the human soul to indulge in sensationalism, or the like except in his the artist's story of Matthew Maule and the Pyncheon's which is quite a humorous exposition.
What impresses me most and distinguishes Hawthorne from most other American writers, is well beyond his excessive grace and knowledge is that his characters are all story tellers, and not just some stiffs spouting off one liners in the midst of some formulaic or contrived plot. His contrivance of plot the legal documents is funny and well put into perspective by his emphasis on the human condition in a new england town.
Its a very good book, although the Scarlet Letter was more gripping to me. I think he is a far better author than Twain and especially Faulkner who I believe is a total hack, and even Melville for Hawthorne's spareness, clarity and grace. And Hemingway - give me a break, that guy is not in the same league as Stephen King. Hawthorne is definitely the greatest writer in American literature, although of course he didn't turn out the same number of books as some of these other guys, you can only read so many books anyway.
Grace, style and exposition (with romance) of all manners of the human condition and sound advice are what makes Hawthorne the best. i highly recommend this book.
The gloomy dignity of an inherited curse September 15, 2007
In Hawthorne's times, wealth and power were vested in landownership.
In this book, a conflict about landownership is solved in favour of a member of the powerful by incriminating of witchcraft and executing the poor owner of a hut. `Clergymen, judges, statesmen stood in the inner circle round about the gallows loudest to applaud the work of blood.'
But the innocent victim utters a prophecy on the scaffold: `God would give them blood to drink.'
The wrongdoing becomes a curse for all generations to come. They will be `slaves of bygone times.'
The House of the Seven Gables, the expression of that odious Past, stands for `what we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on it - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the guilt of the world rests.'
One of the main characters, the Judge, represents the respectability of Puritanism. But he is in fact a selfish, iron-hearted hypocrite, greedy of wealth. He is a member of the schemers: `practiced politicians skilled to adjust those measures which steal the people the power of choosing its own rulers.'
As in `The Scarlet Letter', Nathaniel Hawthorne exposes in this book forcefully the Phariseism of the Puritans and the powerful. It culminates in a very surprising and highly dramatic end.
Not to be missed.
Read this again August 20, 2007
4 out of 4 found this review helpful
Sometimes it seems a mistake to force high school students to read 19th century literature. It does take patience to adjust to the "old fashioned" prose, but it's worth the effort. House of Seven Gables is an eerie ghost story based upon actual historical events. Hawthorne knew Salem and its history inside and out, and he also knew how to create a haunting atmosphere and a story that stays in the mind forever. He's one of the few authors who conveys a sense of Puritan fatalism and repression without resorting to gothic romance cliches. This is an excellent piece of literature, and if you haven't given it a chance by rereading it as an adult, you're missing a great experience.
Nathaniel Hawthorne Meets Charles Dickens. August 10, 2006
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
If you are not familiar with Nathaniel Hawthorne, it may help you to read chapter 13 first. The events in chapter 13 take place before anything else in the story. That said, this book is phenomenal. It would almost appear that Nathaniel Hawthorne was taking lessons from Charles Dickens at this time. Amongst other things, Hawthorne explores the theme that greed leads to one's downfall. (One of Dickens's favorite themes.) After setting the mood, Hawthorne introduces us to Hepzibah. (A down on her luck lady who realizes she needs to survive somehow and opens a cent shop. Yet another Dickens's element.) In her desperation, she carries dignity, but also places demands on our sympathy. The young Phoebe later comes to help Hepzibah, and she adds some hope to the picture. We also learn that Hepzibah's cousin Jaffrey is after Hepzibah's brother Clifford. Hepzibah is frightened of Jaffrey, and Hawthorne will later tell us why. Showing another Dickens's element, we meet the sympathetic and eccentric Clifford. (His room is actually concealed. He has habits that appear strange to many, and Hepzibah is frightened of him ending up in an asylum.) Phoebe remains in bliss in her ignorance, but this is not to last. Though her kindness has a nice effect on Clifford. Interestingly, when Holgrave tells Phoebe about Hepzibah and Clifford, Phoebe gets cold feet and needs to get away for awhile. Well, in comes Jaffrey. He is after a will over land, Clifford may know something about it, and Hepzibah is frightened. In a surprise burst of strength, Clifford confronts Jaffrey and leaves with Hepzibah. (Dickens enjoyed giving his eccentrics sudden bursts of strength or a sudden show of virtue.) In yet another Dickens's technique, Hawthorne himself taunts Jaffrey with a fierece and driving narration. And using a Dickens's technique of irony, the document Jaffrey was searching for was worthless. (Greed and irony. 2 of Dickens's famous trademarks.) Moving on, the good Holgrave, Pheobe, Hepzibah, and Clifford are happily reunited. And not only that, but Hepzibah and Clifford come into money and are rich again. But that is not the end of it. Alice from chapter 13 finds peace. While Hawthorne's previous "Fanshawe" and "Scarlet Letter" ended on a depressing note, the "House of the Seven Gables" ends on a happy note. SIDE NOTE: If you are ever in Salem Massachusetts, make sure you see the House of the Seven Gables.
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