Originally published in 1879, Henry James's HAWTHORNE is available once more after being long out of print. In this critique of one literary genius by another, James not only considers Hawthorne as a man and a writer, but he uses his subject as a vantage point from which to present his views on American culture. James assesses the place of the writer in 19th-century America as well as the disparate values of the Old World and the New.