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...