Twice-told Tales

Citation

Hawthorne, Nathaniel. Twice-told Tales. Ohio State University Press. 9780814202029.

Abstract

From Wikipedia:

“Hawthorne was encouraged by friend Horatio Bridge to collect these previously anonymous stories; Bridge offered $250 to cover the risk of the publication. Many had been published in The Token, edited by Samuel Griswold Goodrich. When the works became popular, Bridge revealed Hawthorne as the author in a review he published in the Boston Post.

The title Twice-Told Tales was based on a line from William Shakespeare’s King John (Act 3, scene 4): “Life is as tedious as a twice-told tale, / Vexing the dull ear of a drowsy man.” The quote referenced may also be Hawthorne’s way of acknowledging a belief that many of his stories were ironic retellings of familiar tropes.”

Annotations

Section