By 1845, the careers of Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe were on very different tracks. Hawthorne was a struggling writer living in Concord, Massachusetts, while Poe was in New York City, a celebrated writer and literary critic known around the country. Yet, in the 1840s, the two men’s careers became briefly entwined.
On July 9, 1842, a small wedding took place at the bookstore of Elizabeth Peabody at 13 West Street in Boston. After a highly secretive three-year engagement, 38-year-old struggling novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne married 33-year-old Sophia Amelia Peabody, the younger sister of the bookstore owner.
When doing research, you occasionally come across a colossal mess that makes you think, “Wow! This is so inappropriate!” And you can’t wait to share it. This article is the result of one of those moments. Are you ready?