"The world is so sad and solemn," wrote Nathaniel Hawthorne, "that things meant in jest are liable, by an overwhelming influence, to become dreadful earnest; gaily dressed fantasies turning to ghostly and black-clad images of themselves." From the radical dualism of Hawthorne's vision, Samuel Coale argues, springs a continuing tradition in the American novel. In Hawthorne's Shadow is the first critical study to describe precisely the formal shape of Hawthorne's psychological romance and to explore his themes and images in relation to such contemporary writers as John Cheever, Norman Mailer, Joan Didion, John Gardner, Joyce Carol Oates, William Styron, and John Updike. When viewed from this perspective, certain writers—particularly Cheever, Mailer, Oates, and Gardner—appear in a new and very different light, leading to a considerable reevaluation of their achievement and their place in American fiction. Mr. Coale's long interviews and conversations with John Cheever, John Gardner, William Styron, and others have provided insights and perspectives that make this book particularly valuable to students of contemporary American literature. Coale links contemporary writers to an on-going American romantic tradition, represented by such earlier authors as Melville, Harold Frederic, Faulkner, Flannery O'Connor, and Carson McCullers. He explores the distinctly Manichean matter of much American romance, linking it to America's Puritan past and to the almost schizophrenic dynamics of American culture in general. Finally, he reexamines the post-modernist writers in light of Hawthorne's "shadow" and shows that, however similar they may be in some ways, they differ remarkably from the previous American romantic tradition.

A classic children’s book for every Canadian family to treasure for all time – a story of mystery and young love in a richly detailed Canadian historical setting. From the winner of the Governor General’s Award for Children’s Literature comes one of Canada’s best-loved, bestselling books for young readers. In the award-winning follow-up to the beloved children’s classic, The Root Cellar, Janet Lunn brings us an enthralling historical tale of Celtic magic, kindred spirits and the struggles of pioneer life in Upper Canada. Shadow in Hawthorn Bay introduces fifteen-year-old Mary Urquhart, a Scottish girl with a special gift – the gift of “second sight”. One morning, in the spring of 1815, Mary hears her beloved cousin Duncan calling desperately for her help. But Duncan is 3,000 miles away in Upper Canada, and to journey to him means leaving the safety and comfort of home for an unknown wilderness. Answering the call, Mary finds herself battling dark forces in a foreign land. But as she struggles for her survival and independence, she unexpectedly finds friendship – with cheerful Yankee Patty, with Owena, the quiet Indian who recognizes the healing powers in her, and with Luke – so different from “Duncan the black.”

The process of Hawthorne's scholarly canonization, and the ongoing critical and cultural discourse on his works. Nathaniel Hawthorne, celebrated in his own day for sketches that now seem sentimental, came only gradually to be fully appreciated for what his friend Herman Melville diagnosed as the "power of blackness" in his fiction - the complex moral grappling with sin and guilt. By the 1850s, Hawthorne had already been accepted into the American canon, and since then, his works - especially The Scarlet Letter -- have remained ubiquitous in American culture. Along with this has come an explosion of Hawthorne criticism, from New Criticism, New Historicism, and Cultural Studies to queer theory, feminist scholarship, and transatlantic criticism, that shows no signs of slowing. This book charts Hawthorne's canonization and the ongoing critical discourse, drawing on two senses of "entanglement." First the sense from quantum physics, which allows us to see what were once seen as strict dualisms in Hawthorne as more complex relations where the poles of the would-be dualities play off of and affect each other; second, the sense of critics being tangled up in, caught up in, Hawthorne the man and his work and in previous critics' views of him. Charting the course of Hawthorne criticism as well as his place in popular culture, this book sheds light also on the culture in which his reception has occurred. Samuel Chase Coale is Professor of American Literature and Culture at Wheaton College, Norton, Massachusetts.

Analyzing sculpture in Hawthorne's fiction through the recurring motif of the fragment, in its double guise as ruin and project, Deanna Fernie establishes the intellectual contexts for her study through a discussion of sculpture and fragmentary form as revealed in American, British, and Continental thought. Her book will be an important text not only for American literature scholars but also for anyone interested in British and Continental Romanticism and the intersections of art and literature.

The fourth installment in fan-favorite author Rachel Hawthorne’s Dark Guardian paranormal romance series about werewolves! Hayden, a Dark Guardian, can feel every Shifter’s emotions except Daniel’s—the only one whose heart she longs to know. Hayden’s ability to sense the feelings of fellow werewolves has made her life unbearable. She runs away, only to be tracked by charming, mysterious Daniel, a newcomer to the pack and the one Shifter immune to her powers. As she reluctantly follows him home, Hayden finds herself falling dangerously in love. . . . But even as her feelings for Daniel deepen, Hayden begins to wonder if he is who he claims to be. Where did he come from and why has no one ever seen him transform? When they stumble upon the body of a Shifter still in wolf form, her worries grow. Someone is killing her kind. Is her handsome tracker really a hunter? And is Hayden now his prey?

Since its publication in 1860, critics have questioned the artistic value of Hawthorne's The Marble Faun. A revival of critical interest during the 1950's and 1960's has done little to change a generally unfavorable opinion of the work. With a few notable exceptions, most recent critics believe The Marble Faun to be inferior to Hawthorne's other completed romances. Such opinions, however, usually seem to be based upon the personal taste of the individual critic rather than upon any sort of objective artistic standards. The purpose of this study is to examine and evaluate the various critical approaches to The Marble Faun. These interpretations provide the basis for a re-appraisal of the work. A study of the structure, the main themes, and the characters of The Marble Faun reveals that it is not an inferior work of art. In many respects, The Marble Faun reflects the maturity of Hawthorne's artistic and philosophical beliefs. The Marble Faun is a work capable of standing on its own merits. Some critics have misunderstood Hawthorne's aesthetic principles. Hawthorne thought that art should be used to suggest moral values. The power of art, he believed, was in its suggestiveness. The creation of an ideal beauty which has no exact counterpart in the material world suggests the reality of an unknowable divine providence. However, the value of a work of art depends upon the mood of the viewer. The viewer must assist the artist with his sympathy and imagination in an act of continual creation. The work of art will reflect back only those qualities which are brought to it by the viewer. Hawthorne's view of life is similar to the philosophy expressed by modern Christian existentialists. Throughout his writings, Hawthorne's concern for humanity is evident. In The Marble Faun, Hawthorne explores a problem which has become almost an obsession of modern man. This problem is the question of man's moral position in what seems to be a meaningless, if not hostile, universe. The most important theme of The Marble Faun is a consideration of the consequences of man's alienation from other men, from God, and from nature. The structure and the themes of The Marble Faun are developed through the actions of the major characters. Hilda, Miriam, Donatello, and Kenyon are each transformed by a fall from relative innocence into a world of suffering humanity. Donatello's transformation from faun to man is more striking than the transformations of the other three characters, and it is his fall which leads to the question of the felix culpa. Although Hilda and Kenyon are ultimately less mature characters than Donatello and Miriam, they also benefit from their experiences in Rome. Hawthorne's belief in the brotherhood of all men is demonstrated by the experiences of the major characters in The Marble Faun. Whether or not it is their wish, each of these characters must accept the responsibility for his own actions and each must become involved with humanity. It is Hawthorne's deep concern for the human condition, profoundly expressed in his art, which makes The Marble Faun a work of enduring importance to our civilization.

The Cambridge Companion to Nathaniel Hawthorne offers students and teachers an introduction to Hawthorne s fiction and the lively debates that shape Hawthorne studies today. In newly commissioned essays, twelve eminent scholars of American literature introduce readers to key issues in Hawthorne scholarship and deepen our understanding of Hawthorne s writing. Each of the major novels is treated in a separate chapter, while other essays explore Hawthorne s art in relation to a stimulating array of issues and approaches. The essays reveal how Hawthorne s work explores understandings of gender relations and sexuality, of childhood and selfhood, of politics and ethics, of history and modernity. An Introduction and a selected bibliography will help students and teachers understand how Hawthorne has been a crucial figure for each generation of readers of American literature.