Nathaniel Hawthorne was an American novelist, dark romantic, and short story writer. He published his first work in 1828, the novel Fanshawe.
Hawthorne's works belong to romanticism or, more specifically, dark romanticism, cautionary tales that suggest that guilt, sin, and evil are the most inherent natural qualities of humanity. Many of his works are inspired by Puritan New England. His four major romances were written between 1850 and 1860: The Scarlet Letter (1850), The House of the Seven Gables (1851), The Blithedale Romance (1852) and The Marble Faun (1860).
A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys (1851), illustrated by Walter Crane, is a children's book in which he retells several Greek myths. It was followed by a sequel, Tanglewood Tales.