Nathaniel Hawthorne, an American writer born in Salem, MA, grew up with his widowed mother and his books. He attended Bowdoin College and returned to Salem with intentions to be a writer. He privately published his first novel, "Fanshawe", in 1828, and was disappointed by its failure. Undeterred, he continued his writing career, submitting stories to New England magazines. Several of his stories were compiled into "Twice-Told Tales", whose success established him as a writer in 1837.

Hawthorne was heavily influenced by his Puritan heritage. One of Hawthorne’s forefathers was Judge Hathorne, who presided over the Salem witch trials in 1692. Hawthorne carried so much guilt for his ancestor’s participation in the infamous trials that he felt compelled to change his last name, adding a "w" to change it from Hathorne to Hawthorne. Hawthorne’s sensitivity to guilt is clearly present in the Scarlet Letter, as well as some of his other works. Other personal influences reflected in Hawthorne’s writing include his love of reading and nature. As a child, Hawthorne was injured in a game of ball and spent several years mostly indoors, owing to the temporary lameness resulting from the injury. It was during this period that he learned to love Shakespeare and The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan, as well as other important pieces of English literature. Later, the Hawthorne and his family moved to Maine to live on some family property in the country. For several years, which he later referred to as the happiest period of his life, Hawthorne spent all his time roaming the forest, hunting and fishing. The freedom he felt in nature is often represented in The Scarlet Letter.

Hawthorne later joined a transcendentalist community called Brookwood Farm at the urging of some of his writer friends. He eventually left, disillusioned, and joined the ranks of the anti-transcendentalists. Hawthorne married a woman named Sophia Peabody, but didn’t seem to have a high opinion of women writers of the time. "America is now wholly given over to a d—ned mob of scribbling women, and I should have no chance of success while the public taste is occupied with their trash — and should be ashamed of myself if I did succeed," Hawthorne once stated. Apparently, he found the works produced by women to be sentimental love stories. However, Hawthorne’s literary style was so highly stylized and romanticized that he sometimes received the same brand of criticism. Still, Hawthorne was hailed as an insightful writer, who was able to craft novels revolving around such sensitive topics as adultery because of his established reputation as an important author of his time.

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