The Scarlet Letter

The Scarlet Letter

Complete, Authoritative Text with Biographical Background and Critical History Plus Essays from Five Contemporary Critical Perspectives with Introductions and Bibliographies

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Relates the tale of a young woman publically scorned for bearing an illegitimate child

The Scarlet Letter Illustrated

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter, published in 1850, is an American novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne and is generally considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery, refuses to name the father, and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explores questions of grace, legalism, sin and guilt.

The Scarlet Letter - Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic American novel The Scarlet Letter follows Hester Prynne, a woman living in the rigid Puritan society of 17th century Boston. Condemned as an adulteress and forced to wear a scarlet A on her dress, Hester refuses to name the father of her child, born out of wedlock. Her quiet dignity in the face of persecution only serves to further enrage many of the townspeople. Separated from society, Hester begins to ask questions about the nature of sin and redemption and comes to conclusions unthinkable to her fellow Puritans. A story of perseverance in the face of ignorance and injustice, The Scarlet Letter enjoyed immediate and lasting success.

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is an 1850 work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and is considered to be his "masterwork". Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.

The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

In the puritan atmosphere of colonial New England, Hester Prynne is forced to wear a scarlet A (for adultery) for giving birth to an illegitimate daughter. The child's father, the minister Arthur Dimmesdale, knows peace only after he has been shamed into confessing. Hester, however, acknowledging no sin, cannot find such peace. Here is a masterful account of religious and sexual oppression, hypocrisy, and intrigue by one of the giants of American fiction.

The Scarlet Letter

By Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

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The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne

This Prestwick House Literary Touchstone Edition? includes a glossary and reader's notes to help the modern reader contend with Hawthorne's complex approach to the human condition.Arguably Nathaniel Hawthorne's most famous novel, The Scarlet Letter probes the very root of the age-old question, "What is good?" Can there be redemption in a society where the only good is the avoidance of sin? Through the characters of the beautiful and independent Hester Prynne, the pious yet guilt-ridden Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale, and the vengeance-obsessed Roger Chillingworth, Hawthorne explores the range of human response to sin and the deadly consequences of the inability to forgive oneself and others. In The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne peers into the shadows of the soul to reveal the doubt, fear, and guilt that, try as we might to deny them, form the foundations of our existence.

The Scarlet Letter (Reader's Library Classics)

Nathaniel Hawthorne

The classic novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne

The Scarlet Letter

Nathanial Hawthorne

A stark and allegorical tale of adultery, guilt, and social repression in Puritan New England, "The Scarlet Letter" is a foundational work of American literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne's exploration of the dichotomy between the public and private self, internal passion and external convention, gives us the unforgettable Hester Prynne, who discovers strength in the face of ostracism and emerges as a heroine ahead of her time. As Kathryn Harrison points out in her Introduction, Hester is "the herald of the modern American heroine, a mother of such strength and stature that she towers over her progeny much as she does the citizens of Salem."

The Scarlet Letter

Considered Hawthorne's Masterpiece (Timeless Classic Books)

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne is 1850, The Scarlet Letter is a work of romantic fiction set in a historical setting. Considered to be Hawthorne's masterpiece, the book is set in 17th century Puritanical Boston. The main character is Hester Prynne who has become pregnant after committing adultery. Hester Prynne's husband has not yet arrived from Europe, so everyone knows she must have committed adultery. She is forced to wear a tattered piece of cloth with a large red letter "A" on it so that she cannot hide her shame from the world. Hester Prynne refuses to tell anyone who the father of her daughter, Pearl, actually is. This leads to a large chain of events the weaves the themes of legality, sin and guilt throughout the book.Hester's experience in Puritan Boston recalls the story of Adam and Eve because, in both cases, sin results in expulsion and suffering. But it also results in knowledge - specifically, in knowledge of what it means to be human. For Hester, the scarlet letter functions as "her passport into regions where other women dared not tread", leading her to "speculate" about her society and herself more "boldly" than anyone else in New England.Hawthorne originally planned The Scarlet Letter to be a shorter novelette which was part of a collection to be named Old Time Legends. His publisher, James Thomas Fields, convinced him to expand the novelette to a full-length novel.he Scarlet Letter was also one of the first mass-produced books in America. Into the mid-nineteenth century, bookbinders of home-grown literature typically hand-made their books and sold them in small quantities. The first mechanized printing of The Scarlet Letter, 2,500 volumes, sold out within ten days, and was widely read and discussed to an extent not much experienced in the young country up until that time. Co

The Scarlet Letter (the Classics

Student & Educator Series)

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Teachers have long understood that grasping the themes of great literature, while often times challenging, is well within the means of those readers willing to thoughtfully engage the text. Furthermore, teachers have long understood the value of margin notes as a powerful tool in accomplishing this end. Yet despite the collective wisdom of many educators, publishers continue to print the classics in a format little conducive to the kind of "text-grappling" that experts recommended.In listening to students and educators, Gladius Books has heeded the call by publishing a series of the most frequently read classics, each printed with extra-wide margins for convenient annotations.To maximize the value of margin notes, the publisher has also included an appendix with helpful note-taking suggestions.