Welcome to the Literary Career Section

Title page of 1878 edition of The Scarlet Letter (courtesy of James R. Osgood and Co.)

Hawthorne was drawn to writing at an early age. In his youth he published The Spectator, a newspaper which he distributed to family members from August to September of 1820. His wit was in evidence in the essays, poems, news, and advertisements in The Spectator. For the rest of his prolific writing life, Hawthorne published over 100 short stories, sketches, novels, children's stories, novels, and non-fiction pieces In his later years Hawthorne felt his muse was on the wane, but he continued to write, producing works such as "Septimius Felton," an unfinished romance.

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