<ul> <li>This edition includes the following editor&#39;s introduction:<i> </i><i>Nathaniel Hawthorne and Dark Romanticism</i></li></ul><br />First published anonymously in 1828, &quot;Fanshawe&quot; is the first novel written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The novel was written during or immediately after Hawthorne&#39;s college days and published at his own expense.<br />&ldquo;Fanshawe&rdquo; is a hard book to categorize, in that it&#39;s a novel in search of a genre. There&#39;s a bit of adventure, a dash of romance, a pinch of drama, a few comedic flourishes, but no single element shines through very strongly. Obviously, the key ingredient is Hawthorne&#39;s writing, which was already masterful even at this initial stage of his career.<br /><br /><b>Plot summary</b><br />Dr. Melmoth, the President of fictional Harley College, takes into his care Ellen Langton, the daughter of his friend, Mr. Langton, who is at sea. Ellen is a young, beautiful girl and attracts the attentions of the college boys, especially Edward Walcott, a strapping though immature student, and Fanshawe, a reclusive, meek intellectual. While out walking, the three young people meet a nameless character called &ldquo;the angler,&rdquo; a name he gets for appearing an expert fisherman. <i>The angler</i> asks for a word with Ellen, tells her something in secret, and apparently flusters her. Walcott and Fanshawe become suspicious of his intentions...