"Cover the roast with a Hawthorne Reduction and serve. . . "

Reducing Hawthorne--A Guide to Nathaniel Hawthorne

An author who has produced a wealth of delights and, according to our intrepid reader, his share of duds.  If you're interested in getting started, Wuthering Expectations will be a good guide.  I've read only a handful of short stories and The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables all of which I enjoyed immensely (after numerous youthful abortive attempts).  What may come as a surprise to many is the wry sense of humor that percolates just under the surface of a great many Hawthorne works.

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