Nathaniel Hawthorne: A Biography

Children's Literature - Michael L. Cooper

This is a great biography by a man who is probably our oldest active children's book author. Meltzer had been writing books for kids for half a century and he is still turning out terrific work. This biography of one of America's early writers is fun to read, not only for the insights it offers into such famous works as the Scarlet Letter and the House of the Seven Gables, but also because it describes the life and times of an interesting man. Hawthorne the artist struggles with the same problems that contemporary artists struggle with (although he does not have to negotiate murky rights for electronic versions of his work), such as how to make a living while doing your work. It is a timeless story and Hawthorne's themes, inspired by events in his family's history, are timeless as well. Meltzer's biography of Hawthorne has made me reread Hawthorne and enjoy him a lot more than I did the first time around. Obviously, Meltzer's own career as a writer informs this title and his entire series about American authors.

VOYA - Sarah Squires

Nathaniel Hawthorne is well known to students for The Scarlet Letter and Young Goodman Brown. This biography will serve as supplemental reading material for students researching Hawthorne. Only one or two pages are dedicated to literary analyses of Hawthorne's works, so students needing plot summaries will have to look elsewhere. Hawthorne's childhood in Salem, his witch-hunting ancestors, and his seeking a cushy government position so that he would have time to write are all covered well. Hawthorne's support of Democratic politicians and disdain for the "d______d mob of scribbling women" in America is not glossed over, and his friendships with Henry David Thoreau, President Franklin Pierce, and Ralph Waldo Emerson are revealed. The source notes, selected bibliography, and chronology are useful to researchers, and the five helpful Web sites lead to more information. This biographical series also profiles Edgar Allan Poe, Emily Dickinson, Herman Melville, and Walt Whitman. Meltzer has proven his ability to write nonfiction and biographies, and this work is no exception. The book presentation is error free, clean and crisp, with black-and-white illustrations or photographs on almost every other page. There is plenty of white space on the pages, and even though there are no color illustrations, the book is visually appealing.

School Library Journal

Gr 6 Up-The legendary novelist's life is portrayed as being as dramatic as the plotlines of his novels, and readers will be captivated by the detailed accounts of the family tragedies that made up his childhood and the financial and literary vicissitudes of his adult life. Meltzer provides sufficient background about New England at the time as well as accounts of the historical events that were shaping the country. This is not a sanitized biography, but an honest rendering, with a touching focus on Hawthorne's love for his wife and children that also shows his pro-slavery and sexist beliefs. Meltzer writes in a clear style and leaves much of the description and psychological analysis to authentic quotes and recorded anecdotes from the writings of Hawthorne, his family and friends, and his contemporaries. Interesting sidebars discuss the themes and the background of selected works by the author. The illustrations are an appropriate mix of black-and-white photographs, paintings, and drawings. This is an excellent choice for avid biography readers as well as students looking for a book to fulfill an American history assignment.-Michael Santangelo, Brooklyn Public Library, NY Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.