Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804 - 1864) was an acclaimed American novelist. He was born Nathaniel Hathorne in Salem, Massachusetts, though he added a w to his name to distance himself from his family's involvement in the infamous Salem witch trials of the 1690s. The trials, along with Puritan culture in general, greatly influenced his writings. He is best remembered for his hallmark novels The House of Seven Gables, and The Scarlet Letter.
