The Scarlet Thread From Witchery to Sanctity: The Religious
Vicissitudes Of the Hawthorne's reviewed by Franklin Freeman The
history of the Hawthornes, more than that of most New England
families of the period, focuses on religion. It concerns the
vicissitudes of the Christian faith as believed, practiced, and
lived by succeeding generations of an extraordinary family.”
Thus write Otto and Katharine Bird in the prologue to their new
book. The great merit of this book is the importance with which
it treats religion—to be expected from Otto Bird, who worked
with Mortimer Adler on the Great Books Program—but something
modern academic studies often comment upon with condescending
incredulity, if not malice. A large section consists of well-
done plot summaries helpful to those unfamiliar with Hawthorne’s
stories and novels. But, unfortunately, in too many places
typographical errors, awkward sentence structures, and non-
sequiturs mar the telling of this fascinating story. The Mystery
of Sin The first part of the b