Index of the Project Gutenberg Works of Nathaniel Hawthorne

In Short

This reference work is an exhaustive index of the complete writings of Nathaniel Hawthorne available through Project Gutenberg. Rather than presenting a single narrative, it acts as a central bibliographic roadmap that catalogs his total literary output. It lists the chapters, sketch titles, and section divisions of famous novels like The Scarlet Letter and The House of the Seven Gables, alongside short fiction, travelogues, children's fables, and intimate personal journals. It endures as an essential guide for readers and scholars navigating the expansive breadth of Hawthorne's historical and psychological prose.

The Story

As a comprehensive index, the text follows a bibliographical structure rather than a dramatic plot, organizing Nathaniel Hawthorne's entire literary career from his earliest local sketches to his posthumously published notebooks. The collection opens with his foundational short fiction, detailing the tables of contents for collections such as Twice-Told Tales and Mosses from an Old Manse. These early entries outline his classic gothic fables, allegorical short stories, and historical sketches rooted in New England's colonial past.

From short fiction, the framework expands into his full-length romances and major novels. It provides explicit chapter breakdowns for The House of the Seven Gables, tracing the long shadow of the Pyncheon family curse from "The Old Pyncheon Family" through "The Flight of Two Owls" to "The Departure." Similarly, it outlines The Scarlet Letter, mapping Hester Prynne's narrative arc from "The Custom House" introduction and "The Prison-Door" all the way to "The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter" and the final "Conclusion." The volume also indexes his other major novels, including The Blithedale Romance and both volumes of The Marble Faun, alongside unfinished works like Doctor Grimshawe's Secret, Septimius Felton, and The Doliver Romance.

Beyond his adult fiction, the volume indexes Hawthorne's diverse work in non-fiction, historical writing, and children's literature. It catalogs historical narratives like Grandfather's Chair—which walks through American history from the Puritans through the Revolution—and mythic retellings for young readers found in A Wonder Book and Tanglewood Tales. It also incorporates biographical sketches, his political work like the Life of Franklin Pierce, and his travel essays on English life in Our Old Home.

Finally, the catalog concludes with his private papers and posthumously collected reflections. It indexes two volumes of Love Letters as well as six detailed volumes of his personal journals, covering his years in America, England, France, and Italy. By charting the contents of these raw entries alongside his finished masterpieces, the index presents a complete, organized overview of a writer's life work from initial sketch to final romance.

How It Unfolds

• Mapping the Short Fiction — The directory begins by detailing the contents of early story collections like Twice-Told Tales and Mosses from an Old Manse. It lists individual titles that explore guilt, morality, and New England folklore, establishing the foundational themes of Hawthorne's career.

• Outlining the Major Romances — The index sets out full chapter listings for masterworks like The House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter. These sections trace the precise structural progression of his major tragic and gothic narratives.

• Cataloging Myth and History — The volume moves into historical retellings and youth literature, such as Grandfather's Chair and Tanglewood Tales. It lists individual stories that translate classic Greek myths and New England history for a younger audience.

• Tracking Non-Fiction and Travels — The directory lists travel essays, political biographies, and observational sketches like Our Old Home. These entries mark Hawthorne's non-fiction observations of English society and contemporary politics.

• Indexing the Private Notebooks — The collection concludes with an inventory of personal correspondence and multi-volume journals from America, England, France, and Italy. These final entries outline the raw personal observations that fed into his published fiction.

The People

Because this volume is a master directory of writings rather than a novel, its key figures are the literary creators, central historical subjects, and defining fictional characters whose names structure the index.

• Nathaniel Hawthorne — The author whose entire life's work is systematically organized. His evolution from an obscure short-story writer to an internationally recognized novelist and diplomat forms the underlying core of the volume.
• Hester Prynne — The central figure of The Scarlet Letter, whose story arc is charted from her initial public shame at the prison door to her ultimate spiritual resolution. Her journey represents Hawthorne's deepest exploration of societal judgment and personal integrity.
• The Pyncheon Family — The central lineage in The House of the Seven Gables, whose generations are indexed through chapters tracing their ancestral curse, decline, and ultimate departure from their historic home.
• Grandfather — The framing narrator of Grandfather's Chair, who sits in an antique chair and recounts New England history to children, serving as the guide through early American colonial narrative.

In Its Own Voice

"THE WHOLE HISTORY OF GRANDFATHER'S CHAIR or TRUE STORIES FROM NEW ENGLAND HISTORY, 1620-1808" This entry in the directory marks Hawthorne's structured attempt to translate colonial history into accessible narratives for young readers.

"I. THE OLD PYNCHEON FAMILY II. THE LITTLE SHOP-WINDOW III. THE FIRST CUSTOMER" These initial chapter titles from The House of the Seven Gables demonstrate how the index outlines the shift from ancestral history to immediate narrative action.

"THE SCARLET LETTER. I. The Prison-Door II. The Market-Place III. The Recognition" This early sequence of entries charts the iconic opening movements of Hawthorne's most famous novel.

What It's Really About

At its core, this volume is about the organization and preservation of a complete literary heritage. By compiling every title, chapter, and journal volume into one master listing, it demonstrates the surprising range of a writer often remembered only for a few famous novels. The index reveals how deeply Hawthorne's work was rooted in interconnected themes: the burden of Puritan history, the moral psychological consequences of secret sin, the translation of ancient myth for modern readers, and the reflective habit of keeping personal journals. It serves as a structural map showing how short sketches, private entries, and longer romances all form part of a single, continuous artistic effort.

Why Read It Today

This text is not a traditional narrative to be read for plot, but rather a functional reference tool for researchers, bibliophiles, and devoted students of American literature. It feels like standing inside a comprehensive archive, offering an immediate, aerial view of everything Hawthorne produced across his lifetime. Readers who enjoy seeing the structural bones of major literary works will appreciate how cleanly the volume breaks down famous books into their constituent chapter arcs.

The primary difficulty of the text is its total lack of prose narrative; it consists entirely of tables of contents, story titles, and chapter headings. However, for a reader attempting to navigate Project Gutenberg's vast collection or looking to locate a specific short story, sketch, or notebook entry, this index remains an indispensable organizational roadmap that brings order to a massive body of classic American writing.