The Scarlet Letter: With linked Table of Contents

collins classics are not a good publishing house despite the presumptuous inclusion of their business history in the opening pages

Set in the harsh puritan landscape of 17th century America, with its inhabitants still of the "beef and ale" of Elizabeth's Britain, with their morals "not a whit more refined", Hawthorne's `The Scarlet Letter' tells the tale of the partially exiled adultress Hester Prynne. After giving birth to a daughter out of wedlock, Hester is sent to live outside of the main society of her community, and forced to wear an embroidered scarlet `A' on her attire, a letter which seems to have various potential meanings in the novel. Dealing with the descent into evil of Hester's ex-husband Chillingworth, who appears in the town after Hester's child is born, the hypocrisy of the society (and one senior figure in particular; without giving too much away), as well as the resolve and penance with which Hester takes her exile.Though Hawthorne's text is rightly renowned for raising serious issues such as religious hypocrisy, conceptions of `adultery' and the protestant ideal of self-sufficiency which Hester comes to embody; the novel is not without some quite serious flaws. Perhaps most notably, in having removed the tale through a number of narrators before it reaches the reader, Hawthorne's idea of historical context backfires somewhat, by taking away much of the emotional urgency the novel could have had, and also creates a feel of the society's women, to give one example, as more of a historical relic than representing the serious ideas, which were still somewhat prevalent in Hawthorne's time of writing. Equally, though Hawthorne's characterisation of evil is good, he seems himself to buy into the unnerving and backwards concept of physical deformity equating to inner evil; an idea he evokes through Chillingworth and the "ugly" women who judge upon Hester's sin. Not only does this take away from the moral presentation Hawthorne provides the reader with, it also potentially creates an awkward sympathy for Chillingworth, and for the judging women; which Hawthorne neither intended to be there, nor helps the characterisation.On the whole, I would recommend `The Scarlet Letter' to those with serious interest in American Fiction, as it does a good job of investigating a lot of the moral issues of the Puritan community, and retains a strong level of social realism (or at least what would have been real to the Puritans - such as little Pearl's supposedly demonic aspects). However, `The Scarlet Letter' is a novel which fails to fully engage the reader, by placing too much distance from the tale to the writing, and which mis-steps with its connection of physical and personal evil; as well as not always being the most linguistically varied of reads.

Let him that is without sin cast the first stone - if only those who point the finger were to heed this command! A tale both sad and salutory but with the promise of redemption.

Modern readers may find the verbal eloquence of writers from this period trying. Like Irving, Hawthorne delighted in such loquaciousness, but even if it doesn't work for you, the story, primarily about appearances, is still pertinent and worth reading.

This was a book I had.never heard of. But by chance started to read. A must read . A great read. A very beautiful book

As an English & American Literature student, I had to read this as it is considered one of the greatest defining novels of American literature. Not only in content, but also in narrative style:- American was considered the 'New World', and as Emerson suggested, America had to stray away from the literary conventions of English Literature, and create its own; and the easiest way of creating something 'original' would be through nature. Hawthorne beautifully encapsulates the innocence, and mysteriousness of the wilderness through the settings within the novel, as well as through Pearl who is the natural, but illegitimate child of love and passion.- Early on in this edition, Hawthorne points out that 'The Scarlet Letter' is a Romance rather than a novel. Therefore, it embodies elements of the medieval fairytale-like qualities, where the reader simply has to throw themselves into believing the supernatural or absurd.-What makes this novel the "grand symbol" of American literature is its action/symbolism driven qualities; it is not simply a story of a few characters, but the story of New England, the harsh and brutal laws of Puritanism, the cruel judgement of society, the contrast of youth and decay, etc.

The Scarlet Letter is one of those books you've heard about, and feel you ought to read.Please note - skip The Custom House preamble. It's pointless.This is a hard one to rate.It is, of course, very well written. And a great insight into 17th century Puritan life (but written in 1850).The language, therefore is of its time, and can feel a bit of an effort to wade through.Hester Prynne is a sinner. She's had a baby, and it's clearly not her husband's. Enter the scarlet letter itself.The story is basically of her atonement for this dreadful sin. And the suffering spreads further than merely to herself.And that's the long and short of this book; suffering, misery and more suffering.The daughter is a wild contrast of all this. But not necessarily in a good way. She is often caste as a demon child.And yet, I found myself intrigued and compelled to reach the conclusion.I understand many school children have been forced to read this, and I pity them. It must be quite an ordeal to pick this apart.However, as an adult with no other agenda than to read the book as is, it's an interesting one.

I purchased this book in the Everyman's Library Classics Edition.The Everyman's Library Classics Edition books are, in my opinion, the best quality books available in the price-range.They are quality bound; with acid-free paper, dust jacket, and ribbon page marker.There are also a great range of authors available in this collection; and they are very reasonably priced. The story itself, is a well known classic, which is beautifully written, by a very talented writer.