Most students of American literature probably can recall the playful French nom de plume-Monsieur de l'Aub pine-that Nathaniel Hawthorne occasionally employed to disguise some of his early attempts at authorship. But very few will know that Monsieur de l'Aub pine enjoyed a surprisingly intelligent critical reception in France during his lifetime. No fewer than six-often startling-essays about the American author appeared in leading French periodicals...