New York: Pocket Books, Inc. Hardcover. Small 12mo, bound with raised maroon faux leather spine over patterned paper covered boards. Spine decorated and lettered in genuine 22kt. gold. Matching patterned endpapers. Collectors edition. 370pp. No name, no book-plate, etc. A clean, near fine copy.. First Thus. Half-Leather. Near Fine. 12mo - over 6¾" - 7¾" tall.

Synopsis

First published in 1851, The House of the Seven Gables is one of Hawthorne's defining works, a vivid depiction of American life and values, replete with brilliantly etched characters. The tale of a cursed house with a "mysterious and terrible past" and the generations linked to it, Hawthorne's chronicle of the Maule and Pyncheon families over two centuries reveals, in Mary Oliver's words, "lives caught in the common fire of history." In a sleepy little New England village stands a dark, weather-beaten, many-gabled house. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family. Mysterious deaths threaten the living. Musty documents nestle behind hidden panels carrying the secret of the family's salvation--or its downfall. Hawthorne called The House of the Seven Gables "a Romance," and freely bestowed upon it many fascinating gothic touches. A brilliant intertwining of the popular, the symbolic, and the historical, the novel is a powerful exploration of personal and national guilt, a work that Henry James declared "the closest approach we are likely to have to the Great American Novel." .

Reviews

On Jun 6 2016, a reader said:

I just found a hard back cover edition of this great book on my mother-in-laws book case. She received it for a Christmas present in 1941. It has a number 53 stamped into its back cover. I'm reading it now and enjoying the writers craft and story. I became intrigued with Hawthorne's style and decided to look it up. Thank you for your review and priceless information about the book and the author. I will treasure my copy and forever be grateful to my husbands sweet mother for giving me this window into the past through The House to the Seven Gables. A beautiful reading experience for years to come.

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Details

Bookseller: Great Expectations Rare Books (US)
Bookseller's Inventory #: 004507
Title: The House of the Seven Gables
Author: Hawthorne, Nathaniel
Format/Binding: Hardcover
Book Condition: Used - Near Fine
Edition: First Thus
Publisher: Pocket Books, Inc.
Place of Publication: New York
Keywords: American Literature, Fiction
Bookseller catalogs: 19th Century American Literature; Alibris;

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Great Expectations Rare Books

All books are described in general dealer terms and we make every effort to list descriptions accurately and conservatively. Books may be returned for any reason within 10 days. We ask that customers email us before returning items. For oversize books, multi-volume titles and sets postage will charged accordingly and customer contacted with additional postage costs.

About the Seller

Great Expectations Rare Books

This seller has earned a 5 of 5 Stars rating from Biblio customers.

Biblio member since 2005

Staten Island, New York

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About Great Expectations Rare Books

We carry a general stock of antiquarian books with a focus on Charles Dickens, 19th and 20th century literature, history and biography.

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Glossary

Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:

12mo: A duodecimo is a book approximately 7 by 4.5 inches in size, or similar in size to a contemporary mass market paperback. Also...
Fine: A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
Spine: The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....