The Scarlet Letter
By Nathaniel Hawthorne
- Release Date: 1850-12-30
- Genre: Classics
Description
An Apple Books Classic edition.
Hester Prynne lives in infamy. After committing adultery and bearing a child with a man whose name she refuses to divulge, the heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel is forced to wear a scarlet A to mark her shame for all to see.
Hawthorne’s American classic reflects the Puritan mindset of Boston in the 1600s, where public humiliation was acceptable punishment for a woman who bucked the norms. Never mind that Hester’s husband was widely believed to have died at sea and that Hester and her daughter are living a quiet life of good deeds in their little cottage outside town. Someone wants revenge-and will stop at nothing to get it.
The Scarlet Letter incorporates supernatural elements with historical fiction. It’s a dark tale of sin and redemption with an unforgettable heroine whose story continues to fascinate readers and inspire film adaptations.
Reviews
Good ending, but a little slow sometimes
4By MamaReadsHerBibleGood story. A bit slow at times, but has a good ending. Good morals and lessons to be learned.Adorned language
3By Campina2013The extra descriptive language lost me sometimes, but it also allowed me to imagine the scenes better. It tells the story of a woman who conceived a child out of wedlock and all the lifelong repercussions that brought.Strong Prose
3By Jamion3I wasn’t the most enamored with this but it was a worthwhile read. Maybe I can come back in a few years and this will hit different.Romantic
5By Amanda J. GreenI fell in love with every character in this book. It's a read you'll remember. Savor every word!😁
5By joley🥰Provides a great lesson to readers of all ages.Effectively Presented
5By Bonnie PrancerThinking this is an age in time review, that isn’t true. The words are appealing and encouraging. The story brings a clear revelation to past time events that are still presentable now. There are simple thoughts of encouragement brought on when subscribing this book. That is not true. This book can be read any time or any where. Thanks to the writer!Classic
5By bluegiraffeHCDHad to read it for school and I enjoyed it! The writing’s a little outdated but I could still understand it. Pearl is so cute I love her!!!!! But I hate Dimmesdale he’s the worst character in the whole book. Not for everyone but overall a great read totally recommend!!!Love it!
5By sarahh297Read this for english class was not expecting to be so invested. A classic I’ll always reccomend!no
1By Holdenrocks3terribleAmazing
5By mckaylag23I loved it! Read it for English class and was not expecting it to be good. It has a good plot line and I love the purpose of the book. 10/10 would recommend.Good book, if you can get past the old english
3By StephanieMoniqueIt’s a classic for sure. It’s just difficult to concentrate with the dated language.Amazing!
5By tdhopTo an old man who was never forced to read this in his youth, The Scarlet Letter is revealed as an absolute masterpiece. Incredibly rich language is mixed with a twisted tale and a moral both poignant and modern. Hardly a tale of Puritan ascendance but instead one of love, sorrow and redemption. Fantastic!Not amazing, but a good read
4By Disappointed owl😢The writing style can get a bit convoluted, but I found the characters to be interesting and unique. Once you get used to the style, the story is interesting and not as frivolously descriptive as others of its era.The Scarlet Letter is outdated
1By lauhgingemoji267The Scarlet Letter is the most outdated book to read in the school. Do not use this as a book to read for your students; as they will hate it and tell others how bad it is. Read this if you enjoy reading centuries old literature.Good
5By mistborn addictIt’s relative to the world back then but it still does have an affect today, but just not as powerful as back then.Not what I expected
5By Matt8385727It took me a while to get use to the way it was written and what the book is actually about. I found it to be very deep and poetic. It’s not so much a book of action but more about the situation as a whole. I can’t say it was “exciting” but very much so a really good book to read.Ugh.
2By marin4200A book isn’t good just because reading it made you feel smart. I had to read this for school, and it did indeed make me feel smart as most of my classmates didn’t even try to read it and opted to use SparkNotes instead, but I was still annoyed the whole way through with the writing style. Every little thing was over-explained. Instead of focusing on moving the story along, or even going into detail about things relevant to it, Hawthorne would analyze a little, irrelevant detail, going on a pages-long tangent about it. I understand that some find this fascinating, but for me it was tedious and unnecessary. It seemed like the only point of it was for Hawthorne to flex his vocabulary and for the reader to flex their elitism for having stayed awake through it. Also, what was with Pearl’s character? Despite Hawthorne’s frequent reminders that she was a little girl, I felt like I was reading about a very stubborn old man whenever she did anything. This was a very strange feeling. Overall, I’m glad I’ve finished it and can say I’ve read it. However, whenever I see or hear about it, I will feel nothing but annoyance and loathing.Good book
5By IhavetoputanamenotusedThat was good.Class reading
4By jadenhawkinsI had to read it for class, and I was being lazy so I figured I’d just get it on my phone. Turned out decent, though I would’ve enjoyed it more if we could shorten down on the commas. You don’t need five per a sentence. Anyways, all in all a perfectly enjoyable book. A jord
