I whanau ia i te tau 1804 i Salem, Massachusetts, ki a Nathaniel Hathorne me Elizabeth Clarke Manning o mua. Ko ona tupuna ko John Hathorne, te kaiwhakawa anake i uru ki nga whakamatautau makutu o Salem kaore i ripeneta i ana mahi. I uru ia ki te Whare Wananga o Bowdoin i te 1821, i pootihia ki Phi Beta Kappa i te 1824, ka puta i te 1825. I whakaputaina e ia tana mahi tuatahi i te 1828, te pukapuka Fanshawe; i ngana ia ki te whakakore i muri mai, i te whakaaro kaore i rite ki te paerewa o ana mahi o muri mai. I whakaputaina e ia etahi korero poto i roto i nga pukapuka, i kohia e ia i te 1837 ko Twice-Told Tales. I te tau e whai ake nei, i whakauruhia ia ki a Sophia Peabody. I mahi ia i te Whare Ritenga o Boston ka uru atu ki te Brook Farm, he hapori whakawhitiwhiti, i mua i te marena ki a Peabody i te 1842.
he maha ngā pūrākau poto i roto i ngā pānui wā