The canonical American masterpiece of sin, guilt, and revenge, in an authoritative new edition from Penguin Classics with a foreword by Tom Perrotta

At once retrospective and radically new, The Scarlet Letter portrays seventeenth-century Puritan New England, a time period irreversibly encoded in the American identity. Hawthorne built one of the most incisive and devastating human dramas ever written out of a community and its outcasts: Hester Prynne and Arthur Dimmesdale, one emblazoned with sin and the other distraught with hidden guilt; Pearl, a child born into ostracism; and Roger Chillingworth, driven to vengeance by hatred. Though these characters face a set of specifically troubling circumstances, their words and actions point to moral truths inherent in human affairs, independent of time and place.

The text of this edition, approved by the Center for Scholarly Editions of the Modern Language Association, is the result of an exhaustive examination of Hawthorne's manuscript and other historical records. Robert Milder provides an enlightening new scholarly introduction and bibliography. Tom Perrotta, whose novel The Leftovers--now a hit HBO show--was influenced by Hawthorne's work, provides a thoughtful foreword on how he came to appreciate Hawthorne's masterpiece.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

An A for adultery marks Hester Prynne as an outcast from the society of colonial Boston. Although forced by the puritanical town fathers to wear a bright red badge of shame, Hester steadfastly resists their efforts to discover the identity of her baby's father. The return of her long-absent spouse brings new pressure on the young mother, as the aggrieved husband undertakes a long-term plot to reveal Hester's partner in adultery and force him to share her disgrace.
Masterful in its symbolism and compelling in its character studies, Nathaniel Hawthorne's tale of punishment and reconciliation examines the concepts of sin, guilt, and pride. The Scarlet Letter was published to immediate acclaim in 1850. Its timeless exploration of moral and spiritual issues, along with its philosophical and psychological insights, keep it ever relevant for students of American literature and lovers of fiction.
A selection of the Common Core State Standards Initiative.

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The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne is a classic novel set in Puritanical Boston in the mid-17th century. It tells the story of Hester Prynne, a young woman who is publicly shamed and ostracized for having a child out of wedlock. Hester is forced to wear a scarlet A on her clothing to signify her status as an adulterer. As she struggles to survive in a Puritanical society that is unforgiving of her sins, Hester is eventually able to redeem herself through her strong will and determination. The novel examines themes of sin, guilt, and repentance in a powerful way.

Throughout the novel, readers are able to explore the inner workings of Hester's mind and understand the consequences of her actions and how they affected those around her. The Scarlet Letter is an emotionally charged and thought-provoking story that is sure to stay with readers long after they finish the book.

It is the mid-seventeenth century in Boston. Hester Prynne, dignified and silent, is led through prison doors to her public shaming by members of the Puritan town. Holding her illegitimate child to her breast, and bearing a bright scarlet letter A embroidered on her bodice, Hester must now struggle to create a new life for herself and her child within this censorious community.

When her missing spouse reappears, reveals himself to her, and takes up residence in town under an assumed identity, Hester, her daughter, her disguised husband, and her clandestine lover are forced to abide in close quarters--leading quiet, anguished lives. But the secrets eat away at their keepers, and only the most resolute, the most spiritual--rather than the merely religious--will survive the fall-out from the affair's exposure.

This tragic novel of sin and redemption is Hawthorne's masterpiece of American fiction.

An ardent young woman, her cowardly lover, and her aging vengeful husband--these are the central characters in this stark drama of the conflict between passion and convention in the harsh world of seventeenth-century Boston. Tremendously moving and rich in psychological insight, this dramatic depiction of the struggle between mind and heart illuminates Hawthorne's concern with our Puritan past and its influence on American life.

With an Introduction by Brenda Wineapple
and an Afterword by Regina Barreca

This edition includes an early Hawthorne story that contains the germ of The Scarlet Letter.

Delightful retelling of six Greek myths to a crowd of energetic youngsters by a master storyteller. Includes The Gorgon's Head, The Golden Touch, The Paradise of Children, The Three Golden Apples, and The Miraculous Pitcher. Numerous black and white illustrations by noted illustrator Walter Crane enliven the narrative. Suitable for ages 9 and up.

Introduction by Kathryn Harrison
Commentary by Nathaniel Hawthorne, W. D. Howells, and Carl Van Doren

A stark tale of adultery, guilt, and social repression in Puritan New England, The Scarlet Letter is a foundational work of American literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne's exploration of the dichotomy between the public and private self, internal passion and external convention, gives us the unforgettable Hester Prynne, who discovers strength in the face of ostracism and emerges as a heroine ahead of her time. As Kathryn Harrison points out in her Introduction, Hester is the herald of the modern heroine.

Includes a Modern Library Reading Group Guide

FThis enduring novel of crime and retribution vividly reflects the social and moral values of New England in the 1840s.

Nathaniel Hawthorne's gripping psychological drama concerns the Pyncheon family, a dynasty founded on pious theft, who live for generations under a dead man's curse until their house is finally exorcised by love. Hawthorne, by birth and education, was instilled with the Puritan belief in America's limitless promise. Yet - in part because of blemishes on his own family history - he also saw the darker side of the young nation. Like his twentieth-century heirs William Faulkner and F. Scott Fitzgerald, Hawthorne peered behind propriety's façade and exposed the true human condition.

Hailed by Henry James as the finest piece of imaginative writing yet put forth in the country, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter reaches to our nation's historical and moral roots for the material of great tragedy. Set in an early New England colony, the novel shows the terrible impact a single, passionate act has on the lives of three members of the community: the defiant Hester Prynne; the fiery, tortured Reverend Dimmesdale; and the obsessed, vengeful Chillingworth.

With The Scarlet Letter, Hawthorne became the first American novelist to forge from our Puritan heritage a universal classic, a masterful exploration of humanity's unending struggle with sin, guilt and pride.

An iconic novel dressed in a fierce design by acclaimed fashion illustrator Ruben Toledo. Other titles in the couture-inspired collection include Jane Eyre, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dracula, Wuthering Heights and Pride and Prejudice.Ruben Toledo's breathtaking drawings have appeared in such high-fashion magazines as Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, and Visionaire. Now he's turning his talented hand to illustrating the gorgeous deluxe editions of three of the most beloved novels in literature. Here Elizabeth Bennet's rejection of Mr. Darcy, Hester Prynne's fateful letter A, and Catherine Earnshaw's wanderings on the Yorkshire moors are transformed into witty and surreal landscapes to appeal to the novels' aficionados and the most discerning designer's eyes.

For more than sixty-five years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,500 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is an 1850 work of fiction in a historical setting, written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book is considered to be his masterwork. Set in 17th-century Puritan Boston, Massachusetts, during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.

Thou and thine, Hester Prynne, belong to me. With these chilling words a husband claims his wife after a two-year absence. But the child she clutches is not his, and Hester wears a scarlet A upon her breast, the sign of adultery visible to all. Under an assumed name, her husband begins his vindictive search for her lover, determined to expose what Hester is equally determined to protect. Defiant and proud, Hester witnesses the degradation of two very different men, as moral codes and legal imperatives painfully collide. Set in the Puritan community of seventeenth-century Boston, The Scarlet Letter also sheds light on the nineteenth century in which it was written, as Hawthorne explores his ambivalent relations with his Puritan forebears. The text of this edition is taken from the Centenary Edition of Hawthorne's works, the most authoritative critical edition. It includes a new, wide-ranging introduction that sheds light on the novel's autobiographical, historical, and literary contexts, a comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography, and thorough notes that provide essential information on Puritan and nineteenth-century life.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

Throughout his richly varied literary career, Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) wrote compelling short stories of enduring appeal. His first important publication, long before The Scarlet Letter, was the 1837 collection Twice-Told Tales, which brought the New England writer immediate fame and high praise from no less an authority than Edgar Allan Poe. Another compilation, Mosses from an Old Manse, followed in 1846 and achieved further success.
This volume contains six stories from those collections as well as another superb selection, My Kinsman, Major Molineux. In addition to the latter tale and the title story, this edition includes Dr. Heidegger's Experiment, The Birthmark, Rappaccini's Daughter, Roger Malvin's Burial and The Artist of the Beautiful. Here are tales rich in atmosphere and suspense, with plots centering on subjects as diverse as witchcraft, revenge, the power of guilt, and a passion for the beautiful, all recounted in the distinctive voice of one of America's great writers.

Sequel to A Wonder Book for Girls and Boys by master storyteller Nathaniel Hawthorne. Six more Greek myths retold by the fictional Eustace Bright to his enthusiastic throng of young listeners, namely The Minotaur, The Pygmies, The Dragon's Teeth, Circe's Palace, The Pomegranate Seeds, and The Golden Fleece. Attractively illustrated by Willy Pogany. Suitable for ages 9 and up.

Originally published in 1853, author Nathaniel Hawthorne delivers a vibrant selection of mythological tales inspired by some of the most popular figures in Greek lore. Tanglewood Tales is filled with whimsical characters and their fantastical stories.

Nathaniel Hawthorne brings Ancient Greek mythology to life in this collection of Tanglewood Tales. The author reinterprets the stories for a younger audience with a broad appeal. The book contains heroes and heroines, as well as magicians and kings. Some of the most notable myths include The Golden Fleece, which centers Jason and the Argonauts. And Circe's Palace, which follows a battle of wits between the enchantress and a formidable foe.

Tanglewood Tales is a companion to Hawthorne's previous work, A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys. It expands his collection of children's stories with more enduring tales from Greek mythology. These are timeless classics that have captivated readers for multiple generations.

Since our inception in 2020, Mint Editions has kept sustainability and innovation at the forefront of our mission. Each and every Mint Edition title gets a fresh, professionally typeset manuscript and a dazzling new cover, all while maintaining the integrity of the original book.

With thousands of titles in our collection, we aim to spotlight diverse public domain works to help them find modern audiences. Mint Editions celebrates a breadth of literary works, curated from both canonical and overlooked classics from writers around the globe.

The first paperback edition to include full annotations of these twenty Hawthorne tales written between the 1830s and 50s, this volume contains the classic pieces Young Goodman Brown, The Maypole of Merry Mount, The Birthmark, The Celestial Railroad, and Earth's Holocaust, as well as tales, such as My Kinsman, Major Molineux, which represent Hawthorne's interest in the spiritual history of New England.

About the Series: For over 100 years Oxford World's Classics has made available the broadest spectrum of literature from around the globe. Each affordable volume reflects Oxford's commitment to scholarship, providing the most accurate text plus a wealth of other valuable features, including expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text, up-to-date bibliographies for further study, and much more.

The great classic created and priced especially for students. Each page has a special margin for students to take notes on. Visit www.ManorStudent.com for a list of other student editions.

A throng of bearded men, in sad-coloured garments and grey steeple-crowned hats, inter-mixed with women, some wearing hoods, and others bareheaded, was assembled in front of a wooden edifice, the door of which was heavily timbered with oak, and studded with iron spikes.

Included in this volume of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic romances: The Snow-Image, The Great Stone Face, Main Street, Ethan Brand, A Bell's Biography, Sylph Etherege, The Canterbury Pilgrims, Old News, The Man of Adamant, The Devil in Manuscript, John Inglefield's Thanksgiving, Old Ticonderoga, The Wives of the Dead, Little Daffydowndilly, and My Kinsman, Major Molineux.

We dream in our waking moments, and walk in our sleep.

Set in the mid-17th century in New England, The Scarlet Letter follows married Hester Prynne after she conceives a daughter through an affair. Societal standards of puritan New England force her to wear a scarlet A on her clothes as a constant reminder to her and everyone else of her past infidelity. Through the life of Hester and of her child, they both struggle through the overwhelming stigma behind Hester's adultery, and despite the mounting pressure, she refuses to name the father of her child.

Hawthorne paints an eye opening story of acceptance, shame, guilt, and fierce social ostracism surrounding one woman and the burden she bears in her life.