by Nathaniel HawthorneWritten 1851 Hawthorne wrote this book in the warm aura of his masterpiece The Scarlet Letter. This book dwells on the theme of whether a Puritan history – replete with its sad stories like the Salem Witch Trials – will haunt the New England culture forever or whether New England can overcome such sad austerity. The hope for the future lies in the characters of Phoebe and Hargrove, who end up getting married…
by Nathaniel HawthorneWritten 1850. I originally read this book in high school. I reread it now, with two more decades of life experience. I’ve lived among Christians who revere the Puritan era. I’ve experienced social shunning. I’m a male living in the #MeToo era where one sin of sexual harassment can lead to career demise. In all of these situations, however, I side with Hawthorne’s sympathies towards those who bear the brunt of social shunning.…
by Charlotte BronteFirst published 1847. Jane Eyre was and is a classic of the English language. Originally published part-way through the Victorian era, this book tells a story of a woman who lost her parents to an early death and was raised and educated in an orphan’s asylum. (It is important to note that this was before the rise of the welfare state in Britain and before public education was recognized as a right.) Her…