Fanshawe

Fanshawe is a novel written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was his first published work, which he published anonymously in 1828. Fanshawe was based on Hawthorne's experiences as an undergraduate at Bowdoin College in the early 1820s. He had written successful short stories before, but this was his first attempt at creating a novel. Hawthorne published the romance himself, and it was largely unnoticed. After its commercial failure, he ... more

Fanshawe is a novel written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. It was his first published work, which he published anonymously in 1828. Fanshawe was based on Hawthorne's experiences as an undergraduate at Bowdoin College in the early 1820s. He had written successful short stories before, but this was his first attempt at creating a novel. Hawthorne published the romance himself, and it was largely unnoticed. After its commercial failure, he burned the unsold copies: "Later all the copies that could be obtained were destroyed. A dozen years after his death a copy was found and the tale reissued by James R. Osgood & co." (quote cf. N.E. Brown, Bibl. of Nathaniel Hawthorne, Boston and New York, 1905) The novel was so rare and Hawthorne was so secretive about his early attempt at a novel that after his death his wife Sophia insisted her husband had never written a novel with that title, despite being shown a copy. less