Doctor Grimshawe's Secret — a Romance

"Doctor Grimshawe's Secret — a Romance" by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a tale set in the 1800s, centered around Doctor Grimshawe, an old, mysterious man living next to a graveyard and raising two young children, Ned and Elsie. The book kicks off by showing the peculiar setup of the Doctor's home–dusty, cobweb-filled, sitting right by the graveyard where the kids often play. The Doctor comes off as both a healer and a bit of an oddball, mixing strange methods in his practice. As readers, we watch how he interacts with the children, trying to avoid their questions about where they came from, showing us how much more there is to him and to the kids' relationship. The story smartly creates a mysterious vibe from the get-go, dropping hints about secrets the Doctor might be hiding and painting a picture of a magical but somewhat scary world for the children.