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The Scarlet Letter Kindle Edition

by Nathaniel Hawthorne (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 105 ratings
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Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece: A searing portrait of sin and redemption in Puritan New England

When Hester Prynne, a young Puritan woman in seventeenth-century Boston, becomes pregnant out of wedlock, the unforgiving society in which she lives judges her harshly. Sentenced to wear a scarlet A emblazoned on her dress, Hester raises her daughter, Pearl, on the outskirts of town—an exile meant to cause her shame for the remainder of her life.

In refusing to name Pearl’s father, Hester seeks to protect the minister Arthur Dimmesdale from sharing her fate. As the years pass, Dimmesdale grows weaker, eroded by his guilt, while Hester finds renewal in a defiant reclamation of her strength and identity. Their diverging paths lead to a searing final scene that stands among the most powerful in American literature.

This ebook has been professionally proofread to ensure accuracy and readability on all devices.
Previous page
  1. Print length
    272 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Open Road Media
  5. Publication date
    September 23, 2014
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. File size
    1379 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

“[The Scarlet Letter] is beautiful, admirable, extraordinary . . . One can often return to it; it supports familiarity and has the inexhaustible charm and mystery of great works of art.” —Henry James

“Here, in short, is the prototype of the psychological novel, a brilliant and groundbreaking example of a new genre within 19th-century fiction.” —The Guardian

About the Author

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804–1864) was an American author whose works are notable for their psychological complexity, dark romanticism, and themes of sin and retribution. Born in Salem, Massachusetts, Hawthorne was a descendant of the earliest Puritan settlers, including one of the judges in the Salem witch trials. In addition to The Scarlet Letter, his well-known works include the novel The House of the Seven Gables and the story collection Twice-Told Tales.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00NG5PH8Q
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Open Road Media (September 23, 2014)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ September 23, 2014
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1379 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 272 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 4.2 out of 5 stars 105 ratings

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
105 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

euonymous
5.0 out of 5 stars 50 Shades of Scarlet
Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2014
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This is not only a great story with characters that we can all understand, it is such a seminal classic that American media, discourse, and entertainment are sprinkled with subtle and not so subtle references to the story. Years ago a good friend, bridge partner, and mathematics professor at MIT told me she had just completed classes for the year with an arcane but funny joke. (Yes, she told it to me and I didn't get it.) After the class laughed, she explained to them that she had to wait until the end of the year to tell that joke because they would not have understood it earlier. And that's one of the reasons we learn and study... we can share inside jokes! (Ok, the title line is a tad lame, but that's how we play with cultural references, new and old.)
One person found this helpful
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Mark Dwayne Madsen
4.0 out of 5 stars Reading for Grown-ups
Reviewed in the United States on July 9, 2015
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This is literature from a different era. Hawthorne is not a super easy read if all one has been reading has been produced in the last 30 years or so. However, this is reading for grown-ups, and the story is worth the effort. The reader's skill at the craft will increase with the effort put into reading books like this.
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Ricky Kimsey
5.0 out of 5 stars Stigmatized
Reviewed in the United States on January 13, 2016
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The central charcter of this novel is stigmatized by her community after she is charged with adultery. Makes you think about how adultery is treated in the present when you compare it to the distant past.
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Thomas from NC
5.0 out of 5 stars A fantastic read!
Reviewed in the United States on March 10, 2016
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One of the best books that I have ever read. Three-dimensional characters in a compelling story that touches on secrets, morals, revenge, regret, punishment, and being a pariah.
One person found this helpful
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susan
5.0 out of 5 stars ... read it in High School and now understand it better as an adult
Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2017
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I read it in High School and now understand it better as an adult.
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Dianne Edwards
1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
Reviewed in the United States on November 29, 2014
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S***
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Lil D.
3.0 out of 5 stars Dare I say "wordy?"
Reviewed in the United States on December 2, 2014
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A classic, well-written, but too ponderous for me. I found myself skimming. It's difficult for me to say that, because as a teen, many years ago, I actually liked The House of Seven Gables. But maybe that's because it was more of a romance. I do adore a romance. And, I had a lot more time on my hands. But Hawthorne himself was said to have liked The House of Seven Gables better, so I feel somewhat vindicated:). My favorite parts of the Scarlet Letter were: the intro (Custom-house), because I enjoyed his depictions of the men "working" there and there seemed to be a playful sense of humor about it; and the climax.
3 people found this helpful
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Patricia Crawford
4.0 out of 5 stars classic
Reviewed in the United States on June 8, 2015
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How can you rate a classic? I'm just glad I have the dictionary on my kindle so I could figure out what was going on. It was hard to read because of the old writing style, but that is true with all classics.
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