Best known today for his powerful and well-crafted novel, The Scarlet Letter  (1850), Nathaniel Hawthorne is considered one of America’s foremost writers. Born in Salem, Massachusetts into an old Puritan family, Hawthorne graduated from Bowden College in 1825. He wrote short stories, historical sketches, and a number of tales, many of which focused on the issues of pride, guilt, and sin. His other books include: The House of  Seven Gables  (1851), The Marble Faun  (1860) and The Blithedale Romance  (1852).