x dismiss this message
Did you know you can edit this page?
-
Sign Into Shelfari
-
Choose something to edit
-
Save your contributions
see page history
Description edit
Greed, treachery, mesmerism and murder are just some of the bricks Hawthorne uses to build The House of the Seven Gables. Generations before the present story begins, wealthy Colonel Pyncheon covets Matthew Maule’s land. When Maule is hanged for witchcraft, he puts a curse on the Colonel — and... read more
Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit
Characters/People edit
- Hepzibah Pyncheon: an old maid who is the current owner of the Pyncheon mansion.
- Phoebe Pyncheon: a young cousin of Hepzibah.
- Clifford Pyncheon: Hepzibah’s brother.
- Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon: a well-to-do cousin of Hepzibah, who has an estate in the country.
- Matthew Maule: known as a wizard, and the original owner of the land on which the Pyncheon mansion was built.
- Alice Pyncheon: daughter of Gervayse Pyncheon, who was one of the past owners of the mansion.
- Mr. Holgrave: a young daguerreotypist who rents a room at the mansion.
- Ned Higgins: A young boy who shops at Hepzibah’s store.
- Uncle Venner: an old man who is a neighbor.
Quotes edit
-
“Nowadays, a man would not dare to be called King. And if he feels himself a little above common folks, he only stoops so much the lower to them.”
Uncle Venner
Setting & Locations edit
First Sentence edit
HALF-WAY down a by-street of one of our New England towns, stands a rusty wooden house, with seven acutely peaked gables facing towards various points of the compass, and a huge, clustered chimney in the midst.
Table of Contents edit
1. The Old Pyncheon Family
2. The Little Shop-Window
3. The First Customer
4. A Day Behind the Counter
5. May and November
6. Maule’s Well
7. The Guest
8. The Pyncheon of To-Day
9. Clifford and Phoebe
10. The Pyncheon Garden
11. The Arched Window
12. The Daguerreotypist
13. Alice Pyncheon
14. Phoebe’s Good-By
15. The Scowl and Smile
16. Clifford’s Chamber
17. The Flight of Two Owls
18. Governor Pyncheon
19. Alice’s Posies
20. The Flower of Eden
21. The Departure
Series & Lists edit
This is book 895 of 1271 in 1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die. (authoritative list)
Preceded by The Blithedale Romance, and followed by Moby-Dick.
This book is in Guardian 1000 Novels Everyone Must Read. (authoritative list)
This book is in Readers Digest Press. (edition-based publisher list)
Authors & Contributors edit
- Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author)
Other Contributors:
- Naunerle C. Farr (Editor)
- A. Marion Merril (Editor) - for Allyn & Bacon edition
- Donada Peters (Reader) - for Tantor Media
- Buck Schirner (Reader) - for Brilliance Audio
- Peter Marinker (Reader) - for NAXOS
First Edition edit
Original Language: English
Publisher: Wildside Press
Country: USA
Publication Date: March 1851
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 344
Publisher: Wildside Press
Country: USA
Publication Date: March 1851
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 344
Classification edit
- Library of Congress: PZ3.H318 H PS1861
- Dewey: 813.3
Subjects edit
Popular Tags
See all 50 tags
Movie Connections edit
- The House of the Seven Gables (1940) (IMDb): In 1828, the bankrupt Pyncheon family fight over Seven Gables, the ancestral mansion. To obtain the house, Jaffrey Pyncheon obtains his brother Clifford's false conviction for murder. Hepzibah, Clifford's sweet fiancée, patiently waits twenty years for his release, whereupon Clifford and his former cellmate, abolitionist Matthew, have a certain scheme in mind.
Books Influenced by This Book edit
We’re hiding the errata, books that influenced this book, books that cite this book and books cited by this book sections. If you would like to add content to them, you must first make them visible.
