The House of the Seven Gables

This Signet edition presents Hawthorne's Gothic romance, originally published in 1851. The novel represents Hawthorne's mature exploration of guilt, hereditary sin, and the American past.

The story centers on the Pyncheon family mansion in Salem, Massachusetts, built on land obtained through questionable means in the 17th century. The house carries a curse from its original owner, and subsequent generations of Pyncheons suffer from the weight of ancestral guilt. The narrative follows Hepzibah Pyncheon and her brother Clifford as they confront their family's dark legacy with help from the daguerreotypist Holgrave.

The novel explores themes central to American literature: the burden of history, the nature of guilt and redemption, and the possibility of democratic renewal. Hawthorne's psychological realism and symbolic technique influenced later American writers, while his examination of Puritan legacy helped define American literary identity. The work demonstrates how Gothic elements could be adapted to address specifically American concerns.

Hawthorne drew inspiration from actual Salem houses and local legends, including his own family's involvement in the Salem witch trials. The novel's publication followed the success of The Scarlet Letter and established Hawthorne's reputation as America's premier prose artist. The daguerreotype artist Holgrave represents new democratic possibilities, contrasting with the aristocratic Pyncheons' attachment to the past.