The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

"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 own ambivalent relationship 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 shedding light on the novel's autobiographical, historical and literary contexts, a comprehensive and up-to-date bibliography, and thorough notes providing essential information on Puritan and nineteenth-century life.

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 expert introductions by leading authorities, voluminous notes to clarify the text and up-to-date bibliographies for further study.

This book is featured on The Book Club with Michael Knowles, PragerU's show dedicated to the great books of Western civilization. In this episode, Michael Knowles is joined by Julie Hartman to discuss what this American classic reveals about society's response to immorality, the complexities of love and passion, and the long shadow of guilt, shame, hypocrisy and repentance.

📺 Watch the episode: Julie Hartman — The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Own this Oxford World's Classics edition of Hawthorne's masterwork, and discover why Hester Prynne's public shame still raises hard questions about sin and society today.