Books with title The Scarlet Letter

"The Scarlet Letter" is the story of Hester Prynne a young attractive woman who has been convicted of the crime of adultery and has been sentenced to wear a scarlet letter "A" sewn to her dress. The novel, which is set in middle 17th century Boston, is a vivid picture of the archaic social beliefs and customs that were indicative of early colonial American life. It is a time in which adultery was not only considered immoral but was a crime, people believed in witches, and extreme puritanical beliefs ruled everyday life. Hawthorne's narrative is a haunting portrait of days long past.

Delve into The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne's meditation on human alienation and its effect on the soul in this story set in seventeenth-century Massachusetts and be dazzled by literature. In Nathaniel Hawthorne's dark novel, The Scarlet Letter, a single sinful act ruins the lives of three people. None more so than Hester Prynne, a young, beautiful, and dignified woman, who conceived a child out of wedlock and receives the public punishment of having to always wear a scarlet "A" on her clothing. She refuses to reveal the father of her child, which could lighten her sentence. Her husband, the aptly-named Roger Chillingworth, who Hester thought had died in a shipwreck but was actually being held captive by Native Americans, arrives at the exact moment of her deepest public shaming and vows to get revenge. Her lover, Arthur Dimmesdale, remains safely unidentified, but is wracked with guilt. Though originally published in 1850, the story is set in seventeenth-century Massachusetts among Hawthorne's Puritan ancestors. In The Scarlet Letter, he created a story that highlighted both their weaknesses and their strengths. His knowledge of their beliefs and his admiration for their way of life was balanced by his concerns about their rigid and oppressive rules.Complete and unabridged, this elegantly designed, clothbound edition features an elastic closure and a new introduction by Mike Lee Davis.

This annotated student edition features:● Full original text, plus annotations and summaries written by a certified high school English teacher● Annotations of literary devices, biblical allusions and historical accounts to help you understand while you read the original text● Identifications of people and places not easily understood by the reader allowing you to instantly understand the context of Hawthorne's writing● Study Guide/Summary for each chapter to check for understanding, or get you through that important quiz you forgot about● Key vocabulary words in bold print you can use the kindle dictionary to quickly define for understanding or to complete an assignmentOh No! You've been assigned a book to read that is over 150 years old! What was Nathaniel Hawthorne even talking about? People don't talk like this anymore!Use this annotated student edition to decipher exactly what Nathaniel Hawthorne meant, and impress your English teacher with your spot-on interpretations.Have time to read the entire book? Use the annotations to understand the deeper meaning of the original text. In a hurry? Read the chapter summaries to get you through those pesky reading quizzes. Need help with the archaic vocabulary? Use the bold text and Kindle dictionary to quickly find the definitions and get back to doing what you truly love- nothing.No matter what type of student you are, this edition will get you through your assigned reading of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Your teacher asks you for an example of a biblical allusion, just look for some italicized text, and Voila! You're assignment is done. Sample annotations and identifications in the original text: Biblical Allusion: These old gentlemen—seated, like Matthew (the apostle in the Bible, writer of a gospel; was once a tax official prior to his calling to Jesus’ ministry) at the receipt of custom, but not very liable to be summoned thence, like him, for apostolic errands—were Custom-House officers.Identification: To detect, as one or another addressed me, the tremor of a voice which, in long-past days, had been wont to bellow through a speaking-trumpet, hoarsely enough to frighten Boreas (Greek god of the north wind) himself to silence. Events adapted from Hawthorne's life: Such were some of the people with whom I now found myself connected. I took it in good part, at the hands of Providence (divine guidance), that I was thrown into a position so little akin to my past habits; and set myself seriously to gather from it whatever profit was to be had. After my fellowship of toil and impracticable schemes with the dreamy brethren of Brook Farm (communal farm in West Roxbury, MA based on transcendentalism. Like the narrator, Hawthorne was an investor, but later left); after living for three years within the subtle influence of an intellect like Emerson's (Ralph Waldo Emerson: transcendentalist poet); after those wild, free days on the Assabeth (river West of Boston, MA), indulging fantastic speculations, beside our fire of fallen boughs, with Ellery Channing (transcendentalist poet);

Nathaniel Hawthorne's most popular and enduring work. Set in 17th-century Puritan New England, The Scarlet Letter tells the story of Hester Prynne, who has conceived a daughter through an adulterous affair. The novel explores the nature of sin -- both public and private. Always featured in lists of the world's best books, The Scarlet Letter is a must-read.Sayre Street Books offers the world's greatest literature in easy to navigate, beautifully designed digital editions.

The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 work of romantic fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered to be his masterpiece and best work. The story takes place during the summer in 17th century Boston, Massachusetts in a Puritan village. A young woman, named Hester Prynne, has been led from the town prison with her infant daughter in her arms and on the breast of her gown "a rag of scarlet cloth" that "assumed the shape of a letter." It is the uppercase letter "A." The Scarlet Letter "A" represents the act of adultery that she has committed and it is to be a symbol of her sin—a badge of shame—for all to see. A man, who was elderly and a stranger to the town, enters the crowd and asks another onlooker what's happening. The second man responds by explaining that Hester is being punished for adultery. Hester's husband, who is much older than she, and whose real name is unknown, has sent her ahead to America whilst settling affairs in Europe. However, her husband does not arrive in Boston, and the consensus is that he has been lost at sea. It is apparent that, while waiting for her husband, Hester has had an affair, leading to the birth of her daughter. She will not reveal her lover's identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her subsequent public shaming, is the punishment for her sin and secrecy. On this day Hester is led to the town scaffold and harangued by the town fathers, but she again refuses to identify her child's father.The book contains illustrations.

Enriched Classics offer readers accessible editions of great works of literature enhanced by helpful notes and commentary. Each book includes educational tools alongside the text, enabling students and readers alike to gain a deeper and more developed understanding of the writer and their work.Set two centuries before Hawthorne’s own time, The Scarlet Letter follows heroine Hester Prynne who is compelled by her Puritan society to wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ on her clothes as a symbol of her sin: adultery. Accompanied by colorful and flawed characters, including the Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale who broods over a long-hidden secret, and Hester’s husband Roger Chillingsworth who thirsts for vengeance, The Scarlet Letter, America’s first psychological novel, is a masterpiece that explores humanity’s unending struggles with pride, sin, and guilt. Enriched Classics enhance your engagement by introducing and explaining the historical and cultural significance of the work, the author’s personal history, and what impact this book had on subsequent scholarship. Each book includes discussion questions that help clarify and reinforce major themes and reading recommendations for further research. Read with confidence.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece: A searing portrait of sin and redemption in Puritan New England When Hester Prynne, a young Puritan woman in seventeenth-century Boston, becomes pregnant out of wedlock, the unforgiving society in which she lives judges her harshly. Sentenced to wear a scarlet A emblazoned on her dress, Hester raises her daughter, Pearl, on the outskirts of town—an exile meant to cause her shame for the remainder of her life. In refusing to name Pearl’s father, Hester seeks to protect the minister Arthur Dimmesdale from sharing her fate. As the years pass, Dimmesdale grows weaker, eroded by his guilt, while Hester finds renewal in a defiant reclamation of her strength and identity. Their diverging paths lead to a searing final scene that stands among the most powerful in American literature. This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece, an iconic fable of guilt and redemption set in Puritan Massachusetts, has long been considered one of the greatest American novels. The story of Hester Prynne—found out in adultery, pilloried by her Puritan community, and abandoned, in different ways, by both her partner in sin and her vengeance-seeking husband—possesses a reality heightened by Hawthorne’s sympathy and his unmixed devotion to his supposedly fallen but fundamentally innocent heroine. The Scarlet Letter rightly deserves its stature as the first great novel written by an American, a work of moral force and narrative power that announced a literature equal to any in the world.

“The scarlet letter was her passport into regions where other women dared not tread. Shame, Despair, Solitude!”--Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Scarlet LetterIn The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne takes readers back to the puritan days of the American colonies, into a society as unforgiving as its harsh New England winters. The story of Hester Prynne, who bears a scarlet “A” upon her breast as a symbol of her adultery, and that of her pious lover who atones in tormented silence, is one that has captivated readers since its publication in 1850. Adapted to numerous plays, films, and operas, the original text is now available in a chic and affordable edition as part of the Word Cloud Classics series from Canterbury Classics.

HarperCollins is pround to present its new range of best-loved, essential classics.'Ah, but let her cover the mark as she will, the pang of it will be always in her heart.'A tale of sin, punishment and atonement, The Scarlet Letter exposes the moral rigidity of a 17th-Century Puritan New England community when faced with the illegitimate child of a young mother. Regarded as the first real heroine of American fiction, it is Hester Prynne's strength of character that resonates with the reader when her harsh sentence is cast. It is in her refusal to reveal the identity of the father in the face of her accusers that Hawthorne champions his heroine and berates the weakness of Society for attacking the innocent.