[[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] and Herman Melville were contemporaries, and in 1850, they lived near each other in the Massachusetts Berkshires. They met for the first time for a hike up Monument Mountain, leading to a brief friendship, but later had a falling out. Hawthorne was an early admirer of Melville's writing, and Melville dedicated ''Moby-Dick'' to Hawthorne. In one of Hawthorne's books, a story-teller talking to children in the Tanglewood area, tells them about all the distinguished literati living in the area, and says: | [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] and Herman Melville were contemporaries, and in 1850, they lived near each other in the Massachusetts Berkshires. They met for the first time for a hike up Monument Mountain, leading to a brief friendship, but later had a falling out. Hawthorne was an early admirer of Melville's writing, and Melville dedicated ''Moby-Dick'' to Hawthorne. In one of Hawthorne's books, a story-teller talking to children in the Tanglewood area, tells them about all the distinguished literati living in the area, and says: |