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What happened to Nathaniel Hawthorne during his final years?

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A son of Salem — Nathaniel Hawthorne Nathaniel Hawthorne's ancestors in Salem, Massachusetts, were Puritans named Hathorne. He added a w to his name when he began writing.

During his final years, Nathaniel Hawthorne published very little. After serving as a consul in England until 1857, he spent time traveling in Italy, which provided the inspiration for his final completed novel, The Marble Faun, published in 1860.1

Upon returning to Concord in 1860, Hawthorne struggled to make progress on new writing projects, reflecting a growing sense of restlessness and discontent. Approximately two years before his death, his health began to decline rapidly; he experienced sudden aging, including his hair turning white, changes in his handwriting, and frequent nosebleeds. He also developed a compulsive habit of writing the number "64" on scraps of paper.1

Hawthorne died in his sleep on May 19, 1864, in Plymouth, New Hampshire, while traveling with his friend Franklin Pierce in search of improved health.1