Hawthorne, Nathaniel

Autograph letter signed ("Nathl Hawthorne"), 1 page (7 1/2 x 4 7/8 in.; 191 x 124 mm) on a bifolium of blue wove paper, Salem, 4 February 1850, to his publisher, James T. Fields, autograph address panel on verso of second leaf; glued to a larger sheet along the right margin of the second leaf.

Mellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Times, pp. 309–317

Autograph letter signed ("Nathl Hawthorne"), 1 page (7 1/2 x 4 7/8 in.; 191 x 124 mm) on a bifolium of blue wove paper, Salem, 4 February 1850, to his publisher, James T. Fields, autograph address panel on verso of second leaf; glued to a larger sheet along the right margin of the second leaf.
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Nathaniel Hawthorne sends the final installment of The Scarlet Letter to his publisher.  In this brief but important letter to James T. Fields, the author writes, "I send you the remainder of the Scarlet Letter, and hope you will like it as well [as] the preceding part.  Thank God, it is off my mind!  My next story shall not be such a h—ll-fired one.  Yet I deserve some credit for refraining from making this half so ugly as I might.

"I likewise send a title-page and table of contents.  I suppose the printers will begin each chapter on a separate page.  I shall be glad when it is through the press; but, on the whole, do not much care about the book's coming out before I get away from Salem.  It will give me rather more local celebrity than I desire; — nevertheless, it is of [word illegible] little consequence either way."

Hawthorne first met Fields in November 1848.  A year later Fields paid a visit to Hawthorne in Salem, seeking to sign him on with Tichnor, Reed & Fields.  The young editor was able to coax the unfinished manuscript of The Scarlet Letter out of the unemployed author just before catching his train back to Boston.  Hawthorne had originally conceived of the story as one of three long tales to be published together.  Fields, however, was so impressed by the manuscript that he urged Hawthorne to expand the work and publish it as a single volume.  Hawthorne was concerned that a dark tale of adultery ("a delicate subject to write upon") would not appeal to the public and critics if allowed to stand alone.  He remarked to Fields, "It is either very good or very bad — I don't know which."  Fields prevailed, however, and the author submitted the final three chapters with the present cover letter.  The novel made Hawthorne a famous author, popular with critics and public alike.  His association with Fields flourished and he published The House of the Seven Gables, The Blithedale Romance, A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys, and other works with the famous firm.

Mounted on the same sheet as the letter are three other letters by 19th-century American figures, including poet R. S. Stoddard.

A fine letter written by Nathaniel Hawthorne at the beginning of the most fruitful period of his career.