Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prominent American novelist, specialized in dark romanticism. His famous novel The Scarlet Letter explores human morality and societal norms in early America with compelling narrative style.
If you enjoy reading books by Nathaniel Hawthorne then you might also like the following authors:
If you enjoy Nathaniel Hawthorne's exploration of the dark side of human nature, you'll appreciate Edgar Allan Poe. Poe's stories often feature eerie settings, psychological tension, and characters struggling with madness or guilt.
His short story The Fall of the House of Usher captures this perfectly, blending gothic atmosphere with deep psychological insight to pull you into its unsettling world.
Herman Melville brings readers into complex moral and philosophical situations, much like Hawthorne does, but with vast ocean settings and adventurous plots. His famous novel Moby-Dick explores human obsession, ambition, and the destructive pursuit of vengeance.
Melville's vivid storytelling and deep exploration of human motives make him ideal if you enjoy Hawthorne's thoughtful and symbolic tales.
Washington Irving is an excellent choice if you're drawn to Hawthorne's atmospheric storytelling and blend of history with imagination. Irving's writing style is engaging, his tone often playful yet reflective.
His classic tale The Legend of Sleepy Hollow weaves folklore, humor, and subtle social commentary into an entertaining and atmospheric story, similar in spirit to Hawthorne's tales.
Henry James offers a nuanced look into the subtleties of human psychology and social interactions—qualities that readers of Nathaniel Hawthorne will appreciate. His novel The Turn of the Screw creates suspense through ambiguity, elegant prose, and complex characters.
If you liked the symbolic and psychological layers in Hawthorne's stories, James's work will likely resonate with you.
Charles Brockden Brown is considered one of America's earliest novelists and a strong influence on Hawthorne himself. Brown wrote dark, mysterious tales focusing on themes of paranoia, inner turmoil, and hidden fears.
His novel Wieland combines psychological horror with a gripping narrative that explores human frailty and madness, making Brown a fascinating choice for anyone who enjoys Hawthorne's exploration of dark themes in the early American context.
William Gilmore Simms was a southern writer known for historical novels set in colonial America. His writing shares Hawthorne's interest in history and complex moral questions. Simms often explores honor, tradition, and personal struggles against difficult social backgrounds.
His novel The Yemassee, set during the conflict between settlers and Native Americans, showcases his dramatic storytelling and deep exploration of history.
James Fenimore Cooper's stories combine historical drama with vivid descriptions of the American wilderness. In works like The Last of the Mohicans, Cooper excavates American identity, morality, and cultural conflict in ways reminiscent of Hawthorne.
His deep interest in nature, human relationships, and the moral struggles of individuals caught between cultures resonates with many readers who appreciate Hawthorne's careful treatment of character and history.
Ralph Waldo Emerson was an essayist and philosopher whose writings deeply shaped American thought. Though different in style from Hawthorne, Emerson shares Hawthorne’s concern with morality, conscience, and individuality.
Emerson emphasizes self-reliance, individualism, and nature in essays like Self-Reliance, ideas often reflected subtly within Hawthorne's own stories.
Henry David Thoreau explored humanity's relationship with nature and society's pressures. While Thoreau's nonfiction style differs from Hawthorne's fictional narratives, they both consider deeply how society affects personal morality and freedom.
In his notable work Walden, Thoreau reflects famously on solitude, nature, and self-discovery, themes that often echo in Hawthorne's careful explorations of the human heart.
Shirley Jackson is best known for exploring the unsettling darkness beneath seemingly ordinary life.
Her novel The Haunting of Hill House blends psychological depth, tension, and mysterious events in ways that recall Hawthorne's careful portrayal of human guilt and hidden darkness.
Readers who enjoy Hawthorne’s exploration of the subtle, often disturbing inner life, likely find themselves absorbed in Jackson’s dark and psychologically intense storytelling.
Flannery O'Connor is famous for her sharp, unsettling fiction that reveals hidden flaws and darker truths about human nature. Her writing blends realism and the grotesque, often set in the American South and shaped by strong religious themes.
In Wise Blood, O'Connor explores faith, doubt, and redemption through the intense journey of Hazel Motes, a complex main character whose efforts to reject Christianity lead him to unusual extremes.
Like Nathaniel Hawthorne, O'Connor masterfully examines morality and religious hypocrisy beneath the surface of everyday life.
E.T.A. Hoffmann writes dark, imaginative tales that blur the lines between reality and fantasy. He looks closely at the hidden sides of human character, often using surreal elements, suspense, and strong symbolism.
In his influential story The Sandman, Hoffmann deals with madness, obsession, and human vulnerability, themes that resonate with readers who appreciate Hawthorne's symbolic style and psychological depth in stories like Young Goodman Brown.
Joyce Carol Oates has produced an extensive body of work, featuring characters in psychologically intense situations. Her stories often examine the darker sides of American life, family dysfunction, and moral decay.
In We Were the Mulvaneys, Oates portrays the unraveling of a seemingly perfect family after tragedy strikes, highlighting themes of moral shame, loss, and the facade of respectability—similar themes to what Hawthorne tackled in The Scarlet Letter.
Sarah Orne Jewett portrays life in rural New England through gentle yet realistic stories. Her vivid depiction of ordinary characters within small-town landscapes expresses the quiet struggles, moral choices, and human interactions in daily life.
Her well-known novel, The Country of the Pointed Firs, reveals understated emotional depth and insight into human connection and community.
Readers who enjoy Hawthorne's subtle insight, quiet intensity, and New England settings will appreciate Jewett's careful and graceful storytelling.
George Lippard writes dramatic, sensational fiction that reveals corruption and injustice hidden beneath the surface of society. His work often contains gothic and supernatural elements and focuses heavily on social and political critique.
In the novel The Quaker City; or, The Monks of Monk Hall, Lippard vividly reveals hypocrisy, darkness, and exploitation in Philadelphia's wealthy circles.
Fans of Hawthorne's symbolic exploration of sin and hidden evil will likely be fascinated by Lippard's intense narratives and sharp criticism of society's moral decay.