Nathaniel Hawthorne Short Stories/Novellas books in order

Reading order

Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of America’s greatest short story writers. “Young Goodman Brown,” “The Minister’s Black Veil,” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” are staples of American literature courses. His shorter works explore the same Puritan guilt and moral ambiguity as his novels, often in allegorical settings. The children’s stories, including retellings of Greek myths, show a different side of his writing.

Many of these stories have been published in standalone editions over the years, which is why the list includes so many separate entries. “The Birthmark” and “Rappaccini’s Daughter” both deal with scientists who push beyond natural limits, a theme Hawthorne returned to often. “My Kinsman, Major Molineux” explores colonial-era mob violence, while “The Great Stone Face” is a gentler allegory set in the White Mountains of New Hampshire.

His Greek myth retellings, including “The Golden Touch,” “The Three Golden Apples,” and “Circe’s Palace,” were written for children and collected in A Wonder-Book and Tanglewood Tales. Septimius Felton, or, The Elixir of Life was left unfinished at his death and published posthumously. The range of his short fiction, from dark Puritan allegory to children’s mythology, shows how wide his interests were.