Nathaniel Hawthorne 
Fanshawe (Annotated) 

• This edition includes the following editor’s introduction: Nathaniel Hawthorne and Dark Romanticism

First published anonymously in 1828, ’Fanshawe’ is the first novel written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel was written during or immediately after Hawthorne’s college days and published at his own expense.

“Fanshawe” is a hard book to categorize, in that it’s a novel in search of a genre. There’s a bit of adventure, a dash of romance, a pinch of drama, a few comedic flourishes, but no single element shines through very strongly. Obviously, the key ingredient is Hawthorne’s writing, which was already masterful even at this initial stage of his career.




Plot summary

Dr. Melmoth, the President of fictional Harley College, takes into his care Ellen Langton, the daughter of his friend, Mr. Langton, who is at sea. Ellen is a young, beautiful girl and attracts the attentions of the college boys, especially Edward Walcott, a strapping though immature student, and Fanshawe, a reclusive, meek intellectual. While out walking, the three young people meet a nameless character called “the angler, ” a name he gets for appearing an expert fisherman.
The angler asks for a word with Ellen, tells her something in secret, and apparently flusters her. Walcott and Fanshawe become suspicious of his intentions…