ATHANIEL. — American novelist, b. at Salem, Indiana, on 4 July 1804, d. at Plymouth, New Hampshire, on 19 May 1864. He began his career in journalism in 1863.
The following year H. revealed himself as a particularly gifted narrator in the psychological depth of his characters in *Twice-Told Tales* (1837). As a customs inspector he was stationed in Boston (1843) and in Salem (1846), finally settling in a secluded cabin in Massachusetts. To this period and environment are linked his two major novels: *The Scarlet Letter* (1850) and *The House of the Seven Gables* (1851). During his final years he served as consul in England and in Italy.
In his novels, as in his tales, a tragic world, bitterly pessimistic, is explored with simplicity of means through a broad style rich in nuances and musical cadences. In *The Scarlet Letter*, which may be considered his most mature work, psychological analysis extends to the entire environment, that of the first Puritan community in America in the mid-17th century.
The novel fully develops the austere vision that H. held of the problem of evil and guilt, whose formulation and resolution reveal in the author the influence of Protestant upbringing.