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Title: Fanshawe by Nathaniel Hawthorne ISBN: 1-59224-463-7 Publisher: Wildside Press Pub. Date: September, 2003 Format: Paperback Volumes: 1 List Price(USD): $15.95

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Average Customer Rating: 4 (2 reviews)

Rating: 3
Summary: A Crucial Study
Comment: Most people know Hawthorne's 2nd novel "The Scarlet Letter" (1850). The only reason I was exposed to his first novel "Fanshawe" (1828) was that I majored in English. I think when we are only exposed to their selected best works, we fail to remember that even the BEST writers like Marlowe and Shakespeare were human. And as humans, NOT EVERY SINGLE THING they write can be a masterpiece. So why read "Fanshawe?" Well, this first novel shows us the greatness to come. We are presented with memorable and chilling images. Ellen is memorable as the typical damsel in distress. Fanshawe and Edward Walcott are captivating as the rivals for Ellen's love who put their differences aside to save her. The Angler is captivating as a villain who offers some interesting passages and is not quite a monster. And Hawthorne manages to speed things up with a wild chase and bitter confrontation. To be sure, this does not represent Hawthorne's best efforts, but do we really know an author if we only read his best works? This novel helps us see the greatness that was to come.

Rating: 5
Summary: Essential for students of Hawthorne
Comment: None of these texts, having been written by Hawthorne in the last three years of his life, were ever completed. Nonetheless, they provide a view of the author not often recognized in reading his other works. Key issues in these texts are scientific research, the progression of life to death, and succession after death, either through legacy or inheritance. Unfortunately, the author was never able to polish this dicussion in one distinct title, and thus we are left with four drafts to ponder. (Only three are included in this volume; the fourth, which I would also recommend, is Dr. Grimshawe's Secret.) There is no loss in this, for Hawthorne's difficulty in writing these works is a testament to their complexity, and each provides separate details wich lead to the reader's complete understanding of the author's inetentions. As romances, Septimius Felton, and Dr. Grimshawe's Secret stand apart as complete and entertaining texts, most intriguing for the scientific research ethic that Hawthornes implies. Until these works were published, similar issues could only be found -- less completely developed -- in the author's short stories (such as "The Birth-Mark," "Rappaccini's Daughter," and "Dr. Heidegger's Experiment"). Enjoy.