The Scarlet Letter
Jan 2014 · First Avenue Editions ™
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290
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About this ebook
Hester Prynne has committed one of the worst crimes in seventeenth-century Puritan Boston: adultery. To make matter worse, she is pregnant. As punishment, she is shamed and forced to wear a large red "A" on her chest at all times. Despite interrogations from the villagers, Hester refuses to reveal the father's identity. As raising an unruly child, dealing with her husband's thirst for revenge, and watching her lover's increasing guilt begin to take their toll, Hester must decide whether keeping her secret is worth the price. This unabridged version of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic American novel is taken from the 1878 copyright edition, featuring original illustrations drawn by Mary Hallock Foote and engraved by A. V. S. Anthony, as well as ornamental pieces illustrated by L. S. Ipsen.
About the author
Nathaniel Hawthorne was born on July 4, 1804 in Salem, Massachusetts. When he was four years old, his father died. Years later, with financial help from his maternal relatives who recognized his literary talent, Hawthorne was able to enroll in Bowdoin College. Among his classmates were the important literary and political figures Horatio Bridge, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and Franklin Pierce. These friends supplied Hawthorne with employment during the early years after graduation while Hawthorne was still establishing himself as a legitimate author. Hawthorne's first novel, Fanshawe, which he self-published in 1828, wasn't quite the success that he had hoped it would be. Not willing to give up, he began writing stories for Twice-Told Tales. These stories established Hawthorne as a leading writer. In 1842, Hawthorne moved to Concord, Massachusetts, where he wrote a number of tales, including "Rappaccini's Daughter" and "Young Goodman Brown," that were later published as Mosses from an Old Manse. The overall theme of Hawthorne's novels was a deep concern with ethical problems of sin, punishment, and atonement. No one novel demonstrated that more vividly than The Scarlet Letter. This tale about the adulterous Puritan Hester Prynne is regarded as Hawthorne's best work and is a classic of American literature. Other famous novels written by Hawthorne include The House of Seven Gables and The Blithedale Romance. In 1852, Hawthorne wrote a campaign biography of his college friend Franklin Pierce. After Pierce was elected as President of the United States, he rewarded Hawthorne with the Consulship at Liverpool, England. Hawthorne died in his sleep on May 19, 1864, while on a trip with Franklin Pierce.
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