Four Doors of Pinckney Street: Nathaniel Hawthorne

In Boston, the past and the present carry on in parallel. The steps we take as we hurry for the T or head to a coffeeshop to meet friends trace those who came before us, maybe even in sync. One such literary place, where numerous authors have made their homes over the year, is Beacon Hill, and in this series we’ll take you on a tour of Four Doors of Pinckney Street.

#54 Pinckney Street: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Most dear love,

I have been caught by a personage who has been in search of me for two or three days, and shall be compelled to devote this unfortunate evening to him, instead of to my Dove. Dost thou regret it? —so does thy poor husband, who loves thee infinitely, and needs thee continually. Art thou well to-day, very dearest?

Thus begins one of the many letters Nathaniel Hawthorne addressed from 54 Pinckney Street. It was from Beacon Hill that the majority of his correspondences – a courtship in letters – went out to his secret fiancée Sophia Peabody, one of the renowned Peabody sisters.

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