Hepzibah Pyncheon leads a sad, lonely life in the family home. Then her young niece, Phoebe, arrives, and also Hepzibah's brother Clifford. But where has Clifford been for so many years? Is there a connection between his absence and Matthew Maule's curse on the family and on the house? Can the Pyncheons ever know peace again? Nathaniel Hawthorne (1806-1864) is a famous American writer of novels and short stories, whose books are mainly concerned with subjects such as sin and punishment.