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By Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Mosses from an Old Manse, 1846, 1854


Contents

A Note on the Text

Criticism

Home page for the Old Manse


Contents


A Note on the Text

The definitive text of Mosses from an Old Manse is the Centenary edition Volume X, 1974, Ohio State University Press, J. Donald Crowley, editor for the tales. Together with other tales and sketches, this edition has been reprinted by the Library of America and others.

Because of copyright issues, we have chosen to use here as copytext the Riverside edition of 1883, edited by George Parsons Lathrop, Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company. Some corrections have been silently made on the basis of suggestions from the Centenary edition, but we have not tried to maintain a scholarly edition here; it is intended as a school text. The Centenary editors regularize the spelling, "old Manse," but we have chosen to retain "Old Manse."

The Centenary edition supplies a wealth of details about the publication history, part of which we supply here. This book, like its predecessor, Twice-Told Tales, is made up of pieces previously published in magazines, and type for the collected edition was generally set from what had already been published, not from new manuscripts.

The first edition appeared on June 5, 1846, by Wiley and Putnam, New York. The cloth two volumes in one cost $1.25 and the paper volumes each $0.50. Volume I contained pieces from "The Old Manse" through "The Procession of Life," and Volume II "The New Adam and Eve" through "A Virtuoso's Collection." The 1846 printing was followed by about five printings through 1852, making Mosses Hawthorne's first commercially successful book, according to the Centenary editors.

In 1854, "Feathertop" was added to the first volume, and "Passages from a Relinquished Work" and "Sketches from Memory" to the second. By March of 1854, Wiley and Putnam sold the plates of the book at auction to Ticknor and Fields, who published their first edition October 28, 1854.

We also list online here the tales and sketches in order of first publication in magazines. A few of the sketches were resurrected from a lost projected book called "The Story Teller." Online here you may see the order of the components of that frame narrative, as reconstructed by one authority.

Following is the publishing history of individual pieces, according to the Centenary edition (pp. 572-81). (MOM stands for Mosses from an Old Manse, and Notebooks stands for The American Notebooks in the Centenary series):

The Old Manse. (1846) Notebooks 237.17-28, 250.19-24, 252.26-29, 318.12-319.5, 320.23-25, 320.29-321.29, 322.20-26, 324.18-325.5, 325.17-26, 326.5-9, 326.15-327.26, 328.26-330.22, 338.5-339.29, 341.34-342.26, 348.7-349.5, 350.2-9, 350.17-20, 350.25-29, 354.24-30, 359.22-260.24, 393.4-24. MS: Manuscript Division, New York Public Library. MOM 1846 I, 1-31, MOM 1854 I, 5-42.

The Birth-mark. (1843, 1846) Notebooks 20.13-15, 158.3, 165.23-25, 26-28, 184.26, 235.24. Pioneer, I (March, 1843), 113-19. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 I, 32-51; 1854 I, 43-66.

A Select Party. (1844, 1846) Notebooks 242.15. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XV (July, 1844), 33-40. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 I, 52-68; 1854 I, 67-86.

Young Goodman Brown. (1835, 1846) New-England Magazine, VIII (April, 1835), 249-60. By the author of "The Gray Champion." MOM 1846 I, 69-84; 1854 I, 87-105.

Rappaccini's Daughter. (1844, 1846) Notebooks 184.4, 222.13-15; 237.17-28. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XV (December, 1844), 545-60, as "Writings of Aubépine" with the title below, "Rappaccini's Daughter." By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 I, 85-118, 1854 I, 106-49.

Mrs. Bullfrog. (1837, 1846) Notebooks 11.24-27. The Token and Atlantic Souvenir. Boston: Charles Bowen, 1837, pp. 66-75. By the author of "The Wives of the Dead." MOM 1846 I, 119-27; 1854 I, 150-60.

Fire-Worship. (1843, 1846) Notebooks 235.15, 364.31-34. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XIII (December, 1843), 627-30. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 I, 128-36; 1854 I, 161-71.

Buds and Bird-Voices. (1843, 1846) Notebooks 341.14-34, 374.18-21, 375.11-15, 3809ff., 382.7-9. MS: C. E. Frazer Clark, Jr., collection. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XIII (June, 1843), 604-8. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 I, 137-46; 1854 I, 172-83.

Monsieur du Miroir. (1837, 1846) Notebooks 15.10-11. The Token and Atlantic Souvenir. Boston: Charles Bowen, 1837, pp. 49-64. By the author of "Sights from a Steeple." MOM 1846 I, 147-58; 1854 I, 184-98.

The Hall of Fantasy. (1843, 1846) Pioneer, I (February, 1843), 49-55. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 I, 159-72; 1854 I, 199-215.

The Celestial Rail-road. (1843, 1846) Notebooks 70.19, 238.21-24. MS: anonymous collector. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XII (May, 1843), 515-23. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 I, 173-92; 1854 I, 216-39.

The Procession of Life. (1843, 1846) Notebooks 15.12-13, 14-18; 22.19-23.5. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XII (April, 1843), 360-66. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 I, 193-207; 1854 I, 240-58.

Feathertop. (1852, 1854) Notebooks 185.8-11, 286.14-27. MS: Morgan Library. International Monthly Magazine of Literature, Science, and Art, V (February 1, 1852), 182-86, and V (March 1, 1852), 333-37. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1854 I, 259-86.

The New Adam and Eve. (1843, 1846) Notebooks 21.18-24. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XII (February, 1843), 146-55. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 1-21; 1854 II, 5-29.

Egotism; or, The Bosom-Serpent. (1843, 1846) Notebooks 22.1-3; 228.6-7. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XII (March, 1843), 255-61. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 22-37; 1854 II, 30-48.

The Christmas Banquet. (1844, 1846) Notebooks 20.21-21.8, 167.3-5, 235.12, 237.17-28. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XIV (January, 1844), 78-87. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 38-58; 1854 II, 49-74.

Drowne's Wooden Image. (1844, 1846) Godey's Magazine and Lady's Book, XXIX (July, 1844), 13-17. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 59-73; 1854 II, 75-91.

The Intelligence Office. (1844, 1846) Notebooks 23.6-10. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XIV (March, 1844), 269-75. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 74-89; 8154 II, 92-110.

Roger Malvin's Burial. (1832, 1846) The Token, Boston: Gray and Bowen, 1832, pp. 161-88. No attribution. Reprinted, United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XIII (August, 1843), 186-96. MOM 1846 II, 90-112; 1854 II, 111-38.

P.'s Correspondence. (1845, 1846) Notebooks 22.16-17, 253.21-254.2. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XVI (April, 1845), 337-45. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 113-32; 1854 II, 139-62.

Earth's Holocaust. (1844, 1846) Notebooks 23.27-29, 185.29-30, 237.10-16. MS: Lilly Library, Indiana University. Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine, XXV (May, 1844), 193-200. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 133-55; 1854 II, 163-90.

Passages from a Relinquished Work. (1834, 1854) New-England Magazine, VII (November, 1834), 353-58: three pieces under the heading "The Story Teller. No. I.": "At Home," "A Flight in the Fog," "A Fellow Traveller." VII (December, 1834), 449-59: rest under "The Story Teller. No. II.". No attribution. MOM 1854 II, 191-210.

Sketches from Memory. (1835, 1854) New-England Magazine, IX (November, 1835), 321-26: two pieces, "The Notch," and "Our Evening Party among the Mountains,"; IX, (December, 1835) 398-409: remainder. By a Pedestrian. MOM 1854 II, 211-30.

The Old Apple-Dealer. (1843, 1846) Noteboks 59.22, 222.22. Sargent's New Monthly Magazine of Literature, Fashion, and the Fine Arts, I (January, 1843), 21-24. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 156-63; 1854 II 231-39.

The Artist of the Beautiful. (1844, 1846) Notebooks 158.3, 165.26-28, 185.26, 242.12. United States Magazine and Democratic Review, XIV (June, 1844), 605-17. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 164-91; 1854 II, 240-73.

A Virtuoso's Collection. (1842, 1846) Notebooks 23.21-23, 30.11, 51.24, 184.18, 227.23, 235.12, 241.12, 242.24, 243.22-24, 252.23-25. Boston Miscellany of Literature and Fashion, I (May, 1842), 193-200. By Nathaniel Hawthorne. MOM 1846 II, 192-211; 1854 II, 274-97.


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