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Why did Nathaniel Hawthorne try to destroy copies of Fanshawe?
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Nathaniel Hawthorne
Nathaniel Hawthorne's ancestors in Salem, Massachusetts, were Puritans named Hathorne. He added a w to his name when he began writing.
Nathaniel Hawthorne attempted to destroy all existing copies of his first novel, Fanshawe, because he deemed the work to be of mediocre and derivative quality.12
Published at his own expense in 1828, the book relied heavily on the conventions of Gothic novels and the literary style of Sir Walter Scott. Hawthorne ultimately decided that the novel was unworthy of his developing talent as a writer.12