Melissa Howard's Blog
Posted by Melissa Howard
Nathaniel Hawthorne's wrote gothic stories and novels that delved into the psychological history of America, specifically that of New England and the Puritans. Evert Augustus Duyckinck wrote of Hawthorne that out of all American authors "he is the most original, the one least indebted to foreign models or literary precedents of any kind".
As a result, it is important for those who wish to understand American Literature and the history of American Fiction that they read and study the work of Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Reviews of Hawthorne Novels
Summary of Novels
Summary of The House of Seven Gables
Summary of Short Stories
Summary of My Kinsman, Major Molineux
Characters of Novels
Characters in The House of Seven Gables
Characters in Short Stories
- The Characters in Young Goodman Brown
- Characters in My Kinsman Major Molineux
- Characters in Artist of the Beautiful
- The Minister's Black Veil
Thematic Studies
- Good & Evil in Young Goodman Brown: Nathaniel Hawthorne on Guilt versus Innocence
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Themes in My Kinsman, Major Molineux:
coming of age, order versus disorder and city versus country
Allegory in Hawthorne
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Posted by Melissa Howard
"A book is more than the sum of its materials. It is an artifact of the human mind and hand." Geraldine Brooks
If Geraldine Brooks is correct, digging into a good book can yield as much dirt and as many interesting pieces of debris as one could possible want without covering the reader in grime.
Posted by Melissa Howard
Laura Ingalls Wilder wrote the popular Little House on the Prairie books. While intended for children, there is much we can all learn from these classic stories
Information About The Author
Laura Ingalls Wilder on Homekeeping: A Feminine View of the Dignity Found in Everyday Duties
Once Upon a Pioneer Time: Fairy Tales by Laura Ingalls Wilder
Laura Ingalls Wilder Thinks On Freedom
Reviews of The Little House on the Prairie Series
Little House on the Prairie
Farmer Boy
Experiencing Little House on the Prairie
Thanksgiving: Little House Style
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Thankful Heart: Understanding the True Meaning of Thanksgiving
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Posted by Melissa Howard
The following quote by Franklin Delano Roosevelt gives a compelling argument for the importance of reading. "A war of ideas can no more be won without books than a naval war can be won without ships. Books, like ships, have the toughest armor, the longest cruising range, and mount the most powerful guns." Franklin Delano Roosevelt If we want to remain thinking humans with the capacity to make decisions and converse intelligently with those around us. We must read.
Posted by Melissa Howard
Time Magazine pays tribute to Twain as a humorist and crusader in its annual Making of America Issue. The articles include "The Seriously Funny Man," "Mark Twain: Our Original Superstar," and "Man of the World. " The on-line version of Time includes a series of fourteen portraits of Twain through the years that are thoroughly enjoyable.
