Nathaniel Hawthorne 
Scarlet Letter 

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.