12/07/2024

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This post-humous collection of stories, sketches and essays by celebrated quintessential New England author Nathaniel Hawthorne gives us glimpses of the many different facets of Hawthorne’s personality. The titular tale The Dolliver Romance was an unfinished manuscript that was edited and prepared for publication after Hawthorne’s death and relates the story of an aged man with a small child in his care who swallows a magical tincture daily that rejuvenates his vitality, reversing the aging process. Also in a more fantastical vein are the stories “The Ancient Ring”, a legend told of a ring cursed, and “Graves a Goblins”, a wryly humorous and moving tale from the point of view of a ghost. In addition, found within are non-fiction essays such as “Sketches from Memory” and “My Trip to Niagara” where Hawthorne evokes a sense of place and time in a most remarkable and vivid fashion. We also see Hawthorne’s somber, allegorical side in stories such as “Fragments from the Journal of a Solitary Man” and “The Old Woman’s Tale”, stories told with a nuanced touch. For fans of Hawthorne, this collection provides a last look at various works a master storyteller has given so generously. (Summary by Ben Tucker)