--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: No author, without a trial, can conceive…" description: "\"No author, without a trial, can conceive of the difficulty of writing a romance about a country where there is no shadow, no antiquity, no mystery, no ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_books_no-author-without-a-trial-can-conceive-o_2373639.jpg" --- # No author, without a trial, can conceive of the difficulty… ![“No author, without a trial, can conceive of the difficulty of writing a romance about a country where there is no shadow, no antiquity, no mystery, no picturesque and gloomy wrong, nor anything but a commonplace prosperity, in broad and simple daylight, as is happily the case with my dear native…” quote by Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_books_no-author-without-a-trial-can-conceive-o_2373639.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_books_no-author-without-a-trial-can-conceive-o_2373639.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/dae/nathaniel-hawthorne-461_books_no-author-without-a-trial-can-conceive-o_2373639.jpg) > “No author, without a trial, can conceive of the difficulty of writing a romance about a country where there is no shadow, no antiquity, no mystery, no picturesque and gloomy wrong, nor anything but a commonplace prosperity, in broad and simple daylight, as is happily the case with my dear native land.” [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Writing a romance in a place lacking darkness, history, or mystery feels impossible because such elements give depth and intrigue to stories. **In simple terms:** Romance needs shadows and history for depth. Key Takeaway Seek complexity in simple settings. Themes literature creativity setting depth romance Mood reflective thoughtful Type analytical inspirational When to use this quote - writing fiction - travel writing - historical analysis - urban planning - cultural criticism Key Concepts Narrative tension cultural contrast idealization Questions to Reflect On - How can you uncover hidden stories in seemingly ordinary places? - What elements add intrigue to a setting? A Different Perspective Even bright, prosperous places can inspire compelling narratives if hidden layers are explored. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Books](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/books/) [Country](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/country/) [Daylight](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/daylight/) [Gloomy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/gloomy/) [Mystery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/mystery/) [Native land](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/native-land/) [Prosperity](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/prosperity/) [Romance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/romance/) [Shadow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shadow/) [Simple Day](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/simple-day/) [Trials](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/trials/) [Writing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/writing/) ## Related quotes > [It was an improbable romance. He was a country boy. She was from the city. 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Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-m-liu/) > [The appeal of writing a romance was that I'd never written one before the The Thorn and The Blossom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/theodora-goss/the-appeal-of-writing-a-romance-was-that-i-d-never-written-one-before/) [Theodora Goss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/theodora-goss/) > [I love writing romance, along with science fiction and fantasy - and my books usually meld all three to some degree.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marjorie-liu/i-love-writing-romance-along-with-science-fiction-and-fantasy-and-my/) [Marjorie Liu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marjorie-liu/) > [When I'm writing, the romance is always the most important thing to me, but I really love adding in slices of real life, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jill-shalvis/when-i-m-writing-the-romance-is-always-the-most-important-thing-to-me/) [Jill Shalvis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jill-shalvis/) > [To venerate the simple days Which lead the seasons by, Needs but to remember That from you or I They may take the trifle…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dickinson/to-venerate-the-simple-days-which-lead-the-seasons-by-needs-but-to/) [Emily Dickinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-dickinson/) > [“Dear Livia McHugh I'll be your husband. I'll be nothing but yours for the rest of forever. A single, simple day with you is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/dear-livia-mchugh-i-ll-be-your-husband-i-ll-be-nothing-but-yours-for/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Livia read from the paper as if it were a letter. “Dear Blake Hartt, thank you. Thank you so much for thinking my smile…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/debra-anastasia/livia-read-from-the-paper-as-if-it-were-a-letter-dear-blake-hartt/) [Debra Anastasia](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/debra-anastasia/) > [“Get out,” Alex said and raised a hand, summoning a guard. “But my lord,” Byron protested even as he stared with alarm at the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/josie-litton/get-out-alex-said-and-raised-a-hand-summoning-a-guard-but-my-lord/) [Josie Litton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/josie-litton/) > [I can be extremely content on my most simple days when I just have like, a great chat with my friend and I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aimee-lou-wood/i-can-be-extremely-content-on-my-most-simple-days-when-i-just-have/) [Aimee Lou Wood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aimee-lou-wood/) > [It's something he used to say when he was happy. It could be a very, very simple day. We might be sitting out on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-grant/it-s-something-he-used-to-say-when-he-was-happy-it-could-be-a-very/) [Jennifer Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-grant/) ## More by Nathaniel Hawthorne > [“there was something of the women molded into the great, stalwart frame of Hollingsworth; nor was he ashamed of it; as men often are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-was-something-of-the-women-molded-into-the-great-stalwart-frame/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The trees reflected in the river - they are unconscious of a spiritual world so near to them. So are we.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-trees-reflected-in-the-river-they-are-unconscious-of-a-spiritual/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The dismaying thing about the classic totalitarian mind is that any given gear, though mutilated, will have at its circumference unbroken sequences of teeth…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-dismaying-thing-about-the-classic-totalitarian-mind-is-that-any/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“My heart was a habitation large enough for many guests, but lonely and chill, and without a household fire, I longed to kindle one!”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/my-heart-was-a-habitation-large-enough-for-many-guests-but-lonely-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Wherever there is a heart and an intellect, the diseases of the physical frame are tinged with the peculiarities of these.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/wherever-there-is-a-heart-and-an-intellect-the-diseases-of-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [The founders of a new colony, whatever Utopia of human virtue and happiness they might originally project, have invariably recognized it among their earliest…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-founders-of-a-new-colony-whatever-utopia-of-human-virtue-and/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [Generosity is the flower of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/generosity-is-the-flower-of-justice/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“he seemed to be in quest for mental food, not heart sustenance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/he-seemed-to-be-in-quest-for-mental-food-not-heart-sustenance/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Unfathomable to mere mortals is the lore of fiends.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/unfathomable-to-mere-mortals-is-the-lore-of-fiends/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“Possibly, he was in a state of second growth and recovery, and was constantly assimilating nutriment for his spirit and intellect from sights, sounds,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/possibly-he-was-in-a-state-of-second-growth-and-recovery-and-was/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“What wonder, then, should we be frightened by the aspect of a monster, which, after all,—though we can point to every feature of his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-wonder-then-should-we-be-frightened-by-the-aspect-of-a-monster/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [As the architecture of a country always follows the earliest structures, American architecture should be a refinement of the log-house. The Egyptian is so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/as-the-architecture-of-a-country-always-follows-the-earliest/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [What we call real estate - the solid ground to build a house on - is the broad foundation on which nearly all the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/what-we-call-real-estate-the-solid-ground-to-build-a-house-on-is-the/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [“The bookworm of great libraries.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/the-bookworm-of-great-libraries/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) > [There are many things in this world that a child must not ask about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathaniel-hawthorne/there-are-many-things-in-this-world-that-a-child-must-not-ask-about/) [Nathaniel Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) [Explore all 526 Nathaniel Hawthorne quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathaniel-hawthorne/) ## More Books quotes > [I think a new world will arise out of the religious mists when we approach our Bible with the idea that it is not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aiden-wilson-tozer/i-think-a-new-world-will-arise-out-of-the-religious-mists-when-we/) [Aiden Wilson Tozer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aiden-wilson-tozer/) > [If I had a dollar for every time I couldn’t sleep, I could buy a billion locks and finally read a book in peace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aesop-rock/if-i-had-a-dollar-for-every-time-i-couldn-t-sleep-i-could-buy-a/) [Aesop Rock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aesop-rock/) > [If what I write is literature, I guess you'd better emphasize the 'litter.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lydia-lunch/if-what-i-write-is-literature-i-guess-you-d-better-emphasize-the/) [Lydia Lunch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lydia-lunch/) > [My sentences got sharper and my stories more efficient, and I gradually learned to imagine the reader more clearly and to empathize with that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-thompson-walker/my-sentences-got-sharper-and-my-stories-more-efficient-and-i/) [Karen Thompson Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-thompson-walker/) > [Young men, especially in America, write to me and ask me to recommend “a course of reading.” Distrust a course of reading! People who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-lang/young-men-especially-in-america-write-to-me-and-ask-me-to-recommend-a/) [Andrew Lang](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-lang/) > [“Within the pages of books, I've journeyed to Mandalay, the Milky Way and Santa Fe, without once having to leave my armchair.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-ansbro/within-the-pages-of-books-i-ve-journeyed-to-mandalay-the-milky-way/) [Kevin Ansbro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-ansbro/) > [The Rosary is the book of the blind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fulton-j-sheen/the-rosary-is-the-book-of-the-blind/) [Fulton J. Sheen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fulton-j-sheen/) > [“Tacitus did not write a most dangerous book. His readers made it so.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-k-krebs/tacitus-did-not-write-a-most-dangerous-book-his-readers-made-it-so/) Christopher K. Krebs > [“Take some books and read; that’s an immense help; and books are always good company if you have the right sort.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louisa-may-alcott/take-some-books-and-read-that-s-an-immense-help-and-books-are-always/) [Louisa May Alcott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louisa-may-alcott/) > [Reader, if you are gifted with nerves like mine, aspire to any character but that of a wit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-lamb/reader-if-you-are-gifted-with-nerves-like-mine-aspire-to-any/) [Charles Lamb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-lamb/) > [I have many who keep me going, I am very fortunate in this sense. 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