The House of the Seven Gables
Nathaniel Hawthorne · 1804–1864 · United States
Why it matters
A decaying New England family mansion carries the curse of an ancestor's judicial murder across generations. Hawthorne's Gothic study of inherited guilt and the sins that outlive their sinners.
At a glance
gothic
Difficulty 7/10slow pace320 pagesHawthorne's dense, allegorical prose slows the plot to a crawl.
Where to go next
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