Like much of Hawthorne's work, The House of the Seven Gables has received ongoing attention from critics and scholars since its publication in 1851. The Nathaniel Hawthorne Society (http://asweb.artsci.uc.edu/english/HawthorneSociety/nh.html), which was formed in 1976 for scholars interested in his work, reflects the degree to which Hawthorne's writing is still very much alive and vital in present day academia. To Hawthorne's credit, his work remains in print and remains part of the core curriculum taught in American literature courses.

Of his critics, Hawthorne himself was likely one of the strongest. In the introduction to Hawthorne: The Critical Heritage, J. Donald Crowley quotes Hawthorne writing to Longfellow:

As to my literary efforts, I do not think much of them—neither is it worthwhile to be ashamed of them. They would have been better, I trust, if written under more favorable circumstances. I...