by Jerome Tiller

Nathaniel Hawthorne has impressed many literary critics and influenced many authors over time. He became famous early in his career and his fame has endured. Recently we sent advertising to school and public librarians to tell them how well-respected Hawthorne was and still is. We knew these career book collectors needed no reminder of that, but we told them anyway because we like shouting from the rooftop. Since we are trying to appeal not only to librarians but to the general reading public, we are blogging the same stuff we just shouted to them.

In Hawthorne Illustrated, master pen & ink illustrator Marc Johnson-Pencook interprets three of Nathaniel Hawthorne's best stories: Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe, and Feathertop.  Here’s a few of the many renowned authors and literary critics who have praised Hawthorne and his stories.

Edgar Allan Poe, World Famous Author & Literary Critic

Mr. Higginbotham's Catastrophe is vividly original and managed most dexterously. Dr. Heidegger's Experiment is exceedingly well imagined, and executed with surpassing ability. The artist breathes in every line of it. In the way of objection we have scarcely a word to say of Hawthorne’s tales…beyond trivial exceptions we have really none to make. The style is purity itself. Force abounds. High imagination gleams from every page. Mr. Hawthorne is a man of the truest genius.

Harold Bloom, Distinguished Literary Critic

Hawthorne's highest achievement is not in The Scarlet Letter and The Marble Faun, distinguished as they are, but in the best of his tales and sketches. My personal favorite among all Hawthorne tales is his last, the extraordinary Feathertop. It is Hawthorne's ultimate legacy.

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Famous American Poet

Hawthorne’s stories, though in prose, are written nevertheless by a poet. He looks upon all things in the spirit of love, and with lively sympathies. His stories come from the hand of a man of genius.

Flannery O'Connor, Iconic American Author

My opinion of Hawthorne is that he was a very great author indeed…I feel more kinship with him than any other American. 

Henry James, Author, 3-time Nobel Prize Nominee

Hawthorne was a beautiful, natural, original genius. His work will remain; it is too original and exquisite to pass away; among the men of imagination he will always have his niche. He combined in a singular degree the spontaneity of the imagination with a haunting care for moral problems. In the field of American letters, Hawthorne is the most valuable example of the American genius.

Hawthorne Illustrated

Nothing more than this needs to be said about Nathaniel Hawthorne by me. Except…various readers and reviewers have really liked our illustrated versions of his stories, which are adapted for middle school readers. We know that young people these days are reading less than ever, and that concerns us. But when young people do read by choice or necessity, Adapted Classics stories provide a painless introduction to classic literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne is one of the best among many authors youngsters should read, alone or with classmates or family, and Hawthorne Illustrated would be a great place for one or all to start. Hawthorne has a special way of provoking interior, classroom, or family conversations—this I guarantee!

[caption id="attachment_834" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Cover - Hawthorne Illustrated[/caption]

Prev Next