Mosses from an old manse

From 1842 to 1845 Nathaniel Hawthorne and his wife lived in the Old Manse in Concord, Massachusetts, and this collection opens with a loving description of the old house and its garden. Then come some of his finest tales: 'Young Goodman Brown', in which a young Puritan goes into the forest at night and finds his neighbours at a witches' meeting; 'The Birthmark', about a scientist determined to remove the only flaw from his wife's face; 'Rappaccini's Daughter', set in a poisonous garden in Padua; 'Feathertop', about a scarecrow brought to life; and 'The Celestial Railroad', a satire on easy modern religion.

Hawthorne published the collection in 1846, and Herman Melville's enthusiastic essay 'Hawthorne and His Mosses' helped make its author famous. These are tales of guilt, pride and the dangers of science and fanaticism. His earlier stories are in Twice-Told Tales, and 'The Celestial Railroad' parodies The Pilgrim's Progress.