In 1839 he took a job measuring salt and coal at the Boston Custom House, where he stayed until 1841, when he invested $1000 in Brook Farm Community, a well-known commune (a group that jointly owns property and shares daily chores). Hawthorne thought Brook Farm would provide an economical home for himself and Peabody, but he soon became disenchanted with the experiment in communal living. After their marriage in 1842 the couple moved to Old Manse of Concord, a similar community whose residents included essayist Ralph Waldo Emerson, writer Henry David Thoreau, and clergyman Ellery Channing. The Hawthornes stayed at Old Manse until 1846, when Nathaniel took a position as surveyor at the Salem Custom House. He was dismissed in January1849 as a result of local political conflicts.
Hawthorne was discouraged about losing his job, but his wife urged him to devote himself to writing. Within two years he had produced The Scarlet Letter and The House of Seven Gables. Immediate acclaim from critics and other writers gave him the motivation to continue publishing his work. In 1852, when his old friend Pierce was elected president, Hawthorne was appointed overseas U.S.
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