In old New England, scheming Judge Pyncheon craves a piece of land owned by poor farmer Matthew Maule. When Maule refuses to sell, he is suddenly accused of being a witch and condemned to die. On the scaffold he curses his persecutor, Judge Pyncheon. “‘God,’ said the dying man, pointing his finger, with a ghastly look, at the undismayed countenance of his enemy, ‘God will give him blood to drink!’” So begins the story of the Pyncheon clan and the curse that blights them down through the generations as they live in their house with seven gables built on land wrongly and ruthlessly appropriated from an innocent man.
First published in 1851, Hawthorne’s novella may be off-putting for modern readers with its lack of action and obvious symbolism, but stick with it. The story is intriguing and eventually you come to care about the characters, especially lonely old spinster Hepzibah. As befits a gothic novel, it’s very much a mood piece with the oppressive decay of the house and its dark history overshadowing everything. Hawthorne’s Victorian writing style is also quite interesting because the dense, highly literate prose, emphasizing psychological insight, is so different from modern popular fiction, which focuses on fast-paced plotting and snappy dialogue. The House of Seven Gables will not appeal to everyone, but if you’re tired of low-brow pop culture and looking for a classic good read, give it a try.
Check the WRL catalog for The House of Seven Gables.
Blogging for a Good Book 
Two years ago, I was on holidays with my brother in New York, and I persuaded him to visit Boston and Salem. We visited The house of seven gables, and I bought the book there (as I’m Spanish, we don’t read so many American literature at high school or college) and, while I was reading it, I could see myself there, like if I were spying the characters in a corner of the room. It was awesome to read the book after visiting the house.
I totally recomend the book, and a visit at the house as well. :)
I remember watcher a horror movie as a kid The Beast with Five Fingers and a disembodied hand. The Count Dracula movies were also terrifying as seen by a young boy and I image that this book is of a similar genre.
Yes! I think a lot of people ignore Hawthorne because they’re forced to read The Scarlet Letter. The House of the Seven Gables is a great classic horror read, and his short stories are amazing.
Hat dies auf trauma Hilfe rebloggt.
[…] The House of Seven Gables, by Nathaniel Hawthorne (bfgb.wordpress.com) […]
The House of Seven Gables sounds a lot like the Crucible. It seems like the people in town are greedy for what their neighbors have and that is very similar to what happened in the Crucible.
I am a high school student and we have to comment on a blog about an author. Out of all the blogs about Hawthorne your has been the best. You have a strong opinion about his books and can sympathies with the readers who might not want to read it all the way through. I agree that his symbolism is vague but if you stick through his books you can understand his hidden meaning. Hawthorn has dark books that capture the bad in human nature and you gave a good description.