The Scarlet Letter

For the 1953 Ellery Queen novel, see The Scarlet Letters. For other uses, see Scarlet Letter (disambiguation).
The Scarlet Letter
Title page, first edition, 1850
AuthorNathaniel Hawthorne
LanguageEnglish
GenreRomantic, Historical
PublisherTicknor, Reed & Fields
Publication date
16 March 1850[1]
Publication placeUnited States
813.3
TextThe Scarlet Letter at Wikisource

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850.[2] Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. As punishment, she must wear a scarlet letter 'A' (for "adultery"). Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin and guilt.

The Scarlet Letter was one of the first mass-produced books in the United States. It was popular when first published[3] and is considered a classic work of American literature.[2] Commonly listed among the Great American Novels,[4] it has inspired numerous film, television, and stage adaptations. Critics have described The Scarlet Letter as a masterwork,[5] and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a "perfect work of the American imagination".[6]

  1. ^ "On Saturday, March 16, Will Be Published, In One Volume, 16 mo, bound in cloth and paper, The Scarlet Letter, A Romance, By Nathaniel Hawthorne". Boston Evening Transcript. March 9, 1850. p. 3.
  2. ^ a b "The 100 best novels: No 16 – The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)". The Guardian. 6 January 2014.
  3. ^ Cite error: The named reference McFarland136 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ Delbanco, Nicholas (February 21, 2014). "Review: 'The Dream of the Great American Novel' by Lawrence Buell". Chicago Tribune.
  5. ^ Seabrook, Andrea (March 2, 2008). "Sinner, Victim, Object, Winner". National Public Radio (NPR). (A quotation in the article refers to The Scarlet Letter as Hawthorne's "masterwork"; in the audio version, the novel is referred to as his "magnum opus".)
  6. ^ Miller, Edwin Haviland (1991). Salem is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. ISBN 0-87745-332-2.