In 1828, the bankrupt Pyncheon family fight over Seven Gables, the ancestral mansion. To obtain the house, Jaffrey Pyncheon obtains his brother Clifford's false conviction for murder. Hepzibah, Clifford's sweet fiancée, patiently waits twenty years for his release, whereupon Clifford and his former cellmate, abolitionist Matthew, have a certain scheme in mind.

 Built on land taken from a dead wizard, the Pyncheons" seven-gabled mansion was the focus for two centuries" secrets and legends: legends of hauntings and undying curses, secrets of madness and missing fortunes. Age and poverty now claimed the house and its residents - old, reclusive Miss Hepzibah; her strange, troubled brother Clifford; and the mysterious young artist Holgrave.

 Then, suddenly the house was transformed by the arrival of the Pyncheons, beautiful young cousin,Phoebe. She brought life, laughter, and love into the tiny world of dusty, dark despair.

 But one rich, powerful, corrupt man- Judge Jaffrey Pyncheon- coveted the mansion"s hidden secrets. And his plot to find them meant destroying all hope and happiness in the house of the seven gables.

The Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne

Foreword

Preface by the Author

THE OLD PYNCHEON FAMILY

THE LITTLE SHOPWINDOW

THE FIRST CUSTOMER

A DAY BEHIND THE COHNTER

MAY AND NOVEMBER

MAULE"S WELL

THE GUEST

THE PYNCHEON OF TODAT

CLIFFORD AND PHOEBE

THE PYNCHEON GARDEN

THE ARCHED WINDOW

THE DAGUERREOTYPIST

ALICE PYNCHEON

PHOEBE"S GOOD-BY

THE SCOWL AND SMILE

CLIFFORD"S CHAMBER

THE FLIGHT OF TWO OWLS

GOVERNOR PYNCHEON

ALICE"S POSIES

THE FLOWER OF EDEN

THE DEPARTURE

Afterword