The Blithedale Romance

By Nathaniel Hawthorne
Introduction by Annette Kolodny

By Nathaniel Hawthorne
Introduction by Annette Kolodny

Best Seller
The Blithedale Romance by Nathaniel Hawthorne
Read An Excerpt

Enlarge Cover

Read An Excerpt

Enlarge Cover

Paperback $11.00

Aug 25, 1983 | 304 Pages

Ebook $8.99

Aug 25, 1983 | 304 Pages

All Formats
+

    Paperback
    –


      Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /www/prhdev/candreotti-prhcom.dev.randomhouse.com/www/wp-content/themes/penguinrandomhouse/mvc/PenguinRandomHouse/View/php/product-details/content-main.phtml on line 271
    • Paperback $11.00

      Aug 25, 1983 | 304 Pages

    Ebook
    +


      Warning: Invalid argument supplied for foreach() in /www/prhdev/candreotti-prhcom.dev.randomhouse.com/www/wp-content/themes/penguinrandomhouse/mvc/PenguinRandomHouse/View/php/product-details/content-main.phtml on line 271
    • Ebook $8.99

      Aug 25, 1983 | 304 Pages

    Buy the Ebook:

    About The Blithedale Romance

    A superb depiction of a utopian community that cannot survive the individual passions of its members. In language that is suggestive and often erotic, Nathaniel Hawthorne tells a tale of failed possibilities and multiple personal betrayals as he explores the contrasts between what his characters espouse and what they actually experience in an ‘ideal’ community. A theme of unrealized sexual possibilities serves as a counterpoint to the other failures at Blithedale: class and sex distinctions are not eradicated, and communal work on the farm proves personally unrewarding and economically disastrous. Based in part on Hawthorne’s own experiences at Brook Farm, an experimental socialist community, The Blithedale Romance is especially timely in light of renewed interest in self-sufficient and other cooperative societies.

    About The Blithedale Romance

    The Blithedale Romance, considered one of Hawthorne’s major novels, explores the limitations of human nature set against an experiment in communal living. From mesmerism to illicit love, The Blithedale Romance represents one of Hawthorne’s best and most sharply etched works, one that Henry James called his "brightest" and "liveliest" novel, and that Roy Male, acclaimed Americanist scholar, said is "one of the most underrated works in American fiction."

    This Modern Library Paperback Classics edition is set from the definitive Ohio State University Press Centenary edition of the novel.

    Get the news you want from Penguin Random House

    Praise

    "Hawthorne, in putting this novel together, was engaged in the most serious literary enterprise of his career."
    –Louis Auchincloss

    About Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Nathaniel Hawthorne (1805–64) was an American novelist and short story writer. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and graduated from Bowdoin College. His first novel, Fanshawe, was published anonymously in 1828, followed by several collections of short stories, including Twice-Told Tales and Mosses from an… More about Nathaniel Hawthorne

    About Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Nathaniel Hawthorne (1805–64) was an American novelist and short story writer. He was born in Salem, Massachusetts, and graduated from Bowdoin College. His first novel, Fanshawe, was published anonymously in 1828, followed by several collections of short stories, including Twice-Told Tales and Mosses from an… More about Nathaniel Hawthorne

    Product Details

    Paperback
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Aug 25, 1983 | 304 Pages | 5-1/16 x 7-3/4 | ISBN 9780140390285

    Ebook
    Published by Penguin Classics
    Aug 25, 1983 | 304 Pages | ISBN 9781101077900

    People Who Read The Blithedale Romance Also Read

    ‹ ›
    Angle of Repose
    Angle of Repose
    Wallace Stegner
    Walden & Civil Disobedience
    Walden & Civil Disobedience
    Henry David Thoreau
    The Red Badge of Courage
    The Red Badge of Courage
    Stephen Crane
    Leaves of Grass
    Leaves of Grass
    Walt Whitman
    Moby-Dick
    Moby-Dick
    Herman Melville
    Uncle Tom's Cabin
    Uncle Tom’s Cabin
    Harriet Beecher Stowe
    Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
    Incidents in the Life of a Slave Girl
    Harriet Jacobs
    The Red Badge of Courage
    The Red Badge of Courage
    Stephen Crane
    Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Deluxe Heirloom Edition
    Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: The Deluxe Heirloom Edition
    Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith
    The House of Mirth
    The House of Mirth
    Edith Wharton
    The Call of the Wild
    The Call of the Wild
    Jack London
    Ethan Frome
    Ethan Frome
    Edith Wharton
    Looking Backward
    Looking Backward
    Edward Bellamy
    The Winter of Our Discontent
    The Winter of Our Discontent
    John Steinbeck
    The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
    The Adventures of Tom Sawyer
    Mark Twain
    Uncle Tom's Cabin
    Uncle Tom’s Cabin
    Harriet Beecher Stowe
    Beloved
    Beloved
    Toni Morrison
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
    The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
    L. Frank Baum
    Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
    Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
    Frederick Douglass
    Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed. HC)
    Atlas Shrugged (Centennial Ed. HC)
    Ayn Rand
    Louisa May Alcott: Little Women, Little Men, Jo's Boys (LOA #156)
    Louisa May Alcott: Little Women, Little Men, Jo’s Boys (LOA #156)
    Louisa May Alcott
    The Killer Angels
    The Killer Angels
    Michael Shaara
    The Souls of Black Folk
    The Souls of Black Folk
    W.E.B. Du Bois
    Riders of the Purple Sage
    Riders of the Purple Sage
    Zane Grey
    Two Years Before the Mast
    Two Years Before the Mast
    Richard Henry Dana, Jr.
    The Bostonians
    The Bostonians
    Henry James
    The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories
    The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories
    Sarah Orne Jewett
    Little Women
    Little Women
    Louisa May Alcott
    Blood Meridian
    Blood Meridian
    Cormac McCarthy
    The Sea-Wolf
    The Sea-Wolf
    Jack London
    The Education of Henry Adams
    The Education of Henry Adams
    Henry Adams
    Sister Carrie
    Sister Carrie
    Theodore Dreiser
    Interview with the Vampire
    Interview with the Vampire
    Anne Rice
    The Crucible
    The Crucible
    Arthur Miller
    My Antonia
    My Antonia
    Willa Cather
    The Confessions of Nat Turner
    The Confessions of Nat Turner
    William Styron
    The Virginian
    The Virginian
    Owen Wister
    Selected Poems
    Selected Poems
    Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
    The Last of the Mohicans
    The Last of the Mohicans
    James Fenimore Cooper
    The Awakening
    The Awakening
    Kate Chopin
    Herland
    Herland
    Charlotte Perkins Gilman
    Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
    Complete Tales & Poems of Edgar Allan Poe
    Edgar Allan Poe

    Inspired by Your Browsing History

    Related Articles

    Back to Top

    Visit other sites in the Penguin Random House Network

    Biographile

    Biographile

    Discover the world through biography and memoir
    Bookscout

    Bookscout

    Make reading social

    Books for Better Living

    Health & Wellness
    Everyday eBook

    Everyday eBook

    Smart, savvy reading, delivered daily
    First to Read

    First to Read

    Early access to Penguin’s Hottest New Titles
    Suvudu

    Suvudu

    The mothership for Fantasy, Science Fiction, Comics, & more
    Tastebook img

    Tastebook

    Over 4 million recipes to search and collect
    Word and Film

    Word and Film

    The intersection of books, movies, and television