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Book Reviews of The Blithedale Romance (The Penguin American Library)

The Blithedale Romance (The Penguin American Library)
The Blithedale Romance - The Penguin American Library
Author: Nathaniel Hawthorne
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ISBN-13: 9780140390285
ISBN-10: 0140390286
Publication Date: 8/25/1983
Pages: 304
Rating:
  • Currently 3.4/5 Stars.
 12

3.4 stars, based on 12 ratings
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Book Type: Paperback
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

3 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Blithedale Romance (The Penguin American Library) on + 8 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A superb depiction of a utopian community that cannot survive the individual passions of its members.
reviewed The Blithedale Romance (The Penguin American Library) on + 56 more book reviews
Awesome classic!
eadieburke avatar reviewed The Blithedale Romance (The Penguin American Library) on + 1642 more book reviews
Book Description
Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 1864) was one of America's most famous writers. Best known for the classic book The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne also wrote many other well known books and short stories including The House of the Seven Gables and Young Goodman Brown. Hawthorne's writing centers around moral issues and the psychology of humans and is dark in nature. Much of this is due to Hawthorne's shame of being related to one of the Salem Witch Trial judges. John Hathorne was Nathaniel's great grandfather and the latter added the "w" to his name in order to hide that relation.

My Review
I enjoyed this book and found that The Blithedale Romance was full of mystery and intriguing characters.The book was based upon Hawthorne's experiences at Brook Farm, a short-lived utopian community. It's not a work of social criticism but it does touch on women's suffrage, prison reform, spiritualism and other economic, political and cultural issues of the time. The beginning of the book is a little slow but the end chapters are full of drama and tragedy as the friends turn to foes. I highly recommend the Blithedale Romance especially if you like character-driven tragedies.