Nathaniel Hawthorne

Writing

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Born July 4, 1804 · Salem, Massachusetts, USA

Died May 19, 1864 · aged 59

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer. His four major romances were written between 1850 and 1860: The Scarlet Letter (1850), The House of the Seven Gables (1851), The Blithedale Romance (1852) and The Marble Faun (1860). Another novel-length romance, Fanshawe, was published anonymously in 1828. Much of Hawthorne's writing centers on New E…

Known For

The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter · 1995
The Scarlet Letter
★ 6.11995
MovieDramaRomance
Set in puritanical Boston in the mid 1600s, the story of seamstress Hester Prynne, who is outcast after she becomes pregnant by a respected reverend. She refuses to divulge the name of the father, is "convicted" of adultery and forced to wear a scarlet "A" until an Indian attack unites the Puritans and leads to a reevaluation of their laws and morals.
The House of the Seven GablesThe House of the Seven Gables · 1940
The House of the Seven Gables
★ 7.01940
MovieThrillerDrama
In 1828, the bankrupt Pyncheon family fight over Seven Gables, the ancestral mansion. To obtain the house, Jaffrey Pyncheon obtains his brother Clifford's false conviction for murder. Hepzibah, Clifford's sweet fiancée, patiently waits twenty years for his release, whereupon Clifford and his former cellmate, abolitionist Matthew, have a certain scheme in mind.
The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter · 1973
The Scarlet Letter
★ 5.41973
MovieHistoryDrama
In 17th-century Salem, Hester Prynne must wear a scarlet A because she is an adulteress, with a child out of wedlock. For seven years, she has refused to name the father. A vigorous older stranger arrives, recognized by Hester but unknown to others as her missing husband. He poses as Chillingworth, a doctor, watching Hester and searching out the identity of her lover. His eye soon rests on Dimmesdale, a young overwrought pastor. Enmity grows between the two men; Chillingworth applies psychological pressure, and the pastor begins to crack. A ship stops in Salem, and Hester sees it as a providential refuge for her daughter, herself, and her lover. But will Dimmesdale flee with her?
Twice-Told TalesTwice-Told Tales · 1963
Twice-Told Tales
★ 6.21963
MovieHorrorFantasy
3 horror stories based on the writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne. In the 1st story titled "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment", Heidegger attempts to restore the youth of three elderly friends. In "Rappaccini's Daughter", a demented father is inoculating his daughter with poison so she may never leave her garden of poisonous plants. In the final story "The House of the Seven Gables", The Pyncheon family suffers from a hundred year old curse and while in the midst of arguing over inheritance, a stranger arrives.
FeathertopFeathertop · 1916
Feathertop
★ 10.01916
MovieDrama
Elsie Green cannot decide which of her two suitors to marry. When she reads Nathaniel Hawthorne's short story "Feathertop", she dreams that she is its heroine Polly Goodkin, and this leads to her final decision.
The BirthmarkThe Birthmark · 1987
The Birthmark
★ 10.01987
MovieHorror
At the end of the 19th century, a man becomes obsessed with removing the small birthmark from his bride's cheek.
La hija de RappacciniLa hija de Rappaccini
La hija de Rappaccini
MovieMusicDrama
Dr. Heidegger's ExperimentDr. Heidegger's Experiment · 1969
Dr. Heidegger's Experiment
1969
MovieDrama
Dr. Heidegger invites four of his respected friends to try out the elixir of youth.

Filmography

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Rappaccini's DaughterRappaccini's Daughter · 1980
Rappaccini's Daughter
★ 7.21980
MovieDramaFantasy
Set in 18th Century Italy, RAPPACCINI'S DAUGHTER is the tale of a young scholar named Giovanni (Kristoffer Tabori) who falls in love with a beautiful, yet forbidden, girl who tends her father's poison garden. However, the strange and unearthly beauty of Beatrice (Kathleen Beller) masks a terrifying curse which Giovanni must tragically discover. Her father, the mysterious Dr. Rappaccini, has made her the subject of a diabolical experiment. In Giovanni's attempt to free Beatrice from the control of her father and to escape the poisonous effect she begins to have on him, he unwittingly destroys her. From the short story of master American novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne, two quintessential Hawthorne themes are explored: the sins of interfering with another's soul and the futility of trying to tamper with nature.

Short Story

The Scarlet LetterThe Scarlet Letter · 1979
The Scarlet Letter
★ 4.51979
SeriesDrama
The Scarlet Letter is a 1979 miniseries based on the novel of the same name that aired on WGBH from March 3, 1979 to March 24, 1979. The series is four episodes long, 60 minutes each. Part 2 won the 1979 Emmy Award for Outstanding Video Tape Editing for a Limited Series or Special for film editors Ken Denisoff, Janet McFadden, and Tucker Wiard. In 1979, when most literary programs were being produced in the United Kingdom, Boston public television station WGBH decided to produce a homegrown literary classic of its own. The result is this epic version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's enduring novel of Puritan America in search of its soul. Hester Prynne overcomes the stigma of adultery to emerge as the first great heroine in American literature. Hawthorne's themes, the nature of sin, social hypocrisy, and community repression, still reverberate through American society. Meg Foster brings a quiet strength to the role of Hester, the adulteress condemned to wear a scarlet "A" for the rest of her life. As her partner in crime, the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, John Heard writhes in private torment most convincingly. Kevin Conway completes this grim triangle as the mysterious, maleficent Roger Chillingworth. The costumes and scenery are simple, so as not to detract from the dialogue as each character grapples with the meaning of sin, forgiveness, and redemption.

Novel