Tooth of the Covenant: A Novel

Nathaniel Hawthorne writes a novel entitled Tooth of the Covenant to exact revenge on his ancestor, a notorious judge of the Salem witch trials. He sends his fictional surrogate, Isaac Page, back to 1692 to save Bridget Bishop and rescue the other victims from execution, but when Page puts on Hathornes spectacles, his worldview is transformed and he loses his resolve. The novel is an ingenious and profound investigation into the notion of universal truth and morality.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 288 pages
Publication date: 22 July 2021
Publisher: Bellevue Literary Press

Best known for his novel The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne was burdened by familial shame, which began with his great-great-grandfather John Hathorne, the infamously unrepentant Salem witch trial judge. In this, the eighth stand-alone book in The American Novels series, we witness Hawthorne writing a tale entitled Tooth of the Covenant, in which he sends his fictional surrogate, Isaac Page, back to the year 1692 to save Bridget Bishop, the first person executed for witchcraft, and rescue the other victims from execution. But when Page puts on Hathornes spectacles, his worldview is transformed, and he loses his resolve. As he battles his conscience, he finds that it is his own life hanging in the balance.

An ingenious and profound investigation into the very notion of universal truth and morality, Tooth of the Covenant probes storytellings depths to raise historys dead and assuage the persistent ghost of guilt.

Weight: 284g
Dimension: 129 x 189 x 22 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781942658832