Hawthorne’s Children’s Stories at The Gables with Michael and Elizabeth Judd

Hawthorne’s Children’s Stories at The Gables with Michael and Elizabeth Judd PART OF THE SEVEN LECTURES AT SEVEN GABLES SERIES August 19th 6-8PM Members: FREE Non-members: $7.00 When American readers think of Nathaniel Hawthorne, what comes to mind are works like The House of the Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter.  These serious novels are grounded in New England’s Puritan past and are characterized by a dark, pessimistic view of human nature. However, there is another side to his genius, a much more lighthearted and positive Hawthorne, revealed in the creation of his remarkable works for children.  The most famous of these are his re-tellings of classical Greek and Roman myths in A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys and Tanglewood Tales.  In these books he pioneered a new type of children’s literature that embodied fresh ideas about the nature of childhood and children, the education and pastimes appropriate to them, and how they should be raised. Michael and Elizabeth Judd will discuss the books and the familial, cultural, and historical contexts that influenced their creation, in an illustrated lecture. For more information or to RSVP, contact Ryan at 978-744-0991 x 104, or rconary@7gables.org