The Scarlet Letter

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

Original en 68336 words First published 1850 United States

Nathaniel Hawthorne's 1850 masterpiece, the first great American novel. In Puritan Boston, Hester Prynne, condemned for adultery, is set on the scaffold with the scarlet letter A on her breast — and refuses to name the child's father. Her lover's secret guilt slowly destroys him, while her estranged husband devotes his life to uncovering him; her daughter Pearl, meanwhile, is both sin's emblem and her one wild redemption. A profound study of sin, secrecy, hypocrisy and the possibility of moral rebirth in a world that does not forgive.

Text sourced from Project Gutenberg (public domain in the United States); the Project Gutenberg trademark and license text have been removed on import. Public-domain status determined by the author's death year + 50 years rule.

The Scarlet Letter

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