The Scarlet Letter (Wordsworth Classics)

Introduction and Notes by Henry Claridge, Senior Lecturer, School of English, University of Kent at Canterbury.

This is a troubling story of crime, sin, guilt, punishment and expiation, set in the rigid moral climate of 17th-century New England. The young mother of an illegitimate child confronts her Puritan judges.

However, it is not so much her harsh sentence, but the cruelties of slowly exposed guilt as her lover is revealed, that hold the reader enthralled all the way to the book's poignant climax.

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Published May 5, 1992

224 pages

Average rating: 6.71

296 RATINGS

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Community Reviews

Sherlock
Nov 26, 2024
Good plot, character development, themes, etc... which probably accounts for it being part of our 11th grade requirements, but what a difficult read!
Miss Scarlett
May 06, 2025
9/10 stars
It was a sad story. Even so, I loved it. This is the first Hawthorne's novel I read. I'm surprised about his ability for making you feel close to the characters and close to the story, and at the same time, you, as a reader, feel the story as an intruder, as a real witness of a tragedy you don't belong to, but you are taking part in. It was beautiful, especially, the depictions of the walks through the wild and unexplored woods of New England. I felt it as an autumnal reading. Very soft, very gentle, very simple and quiet in appearance, and full of violence and injustice on the other hand. A painful love story, but most of all, a story about love and hate, and the very little distance between them. A story about humankind conscience vs sin. A tragedy in all its rule. The final chapter is a masterpiece.
wardbunch
Mar 26, 2025
10/10 stars
Just love Hawthorne.
Jesica Clemmons
Jan 26, 2025
9/10 stars
One of my favorite classics. I thought this would be a slow read, but I had a hard time putting it down.
Anonymous
Jan 11, 2025
8/10 stars
cancel culture has always been a thing! surprisingly enjoyable to read. maybe just because i’ve read a little hawthorne before or maybe because i’ve been reading a lot recently, but i didn’t find the style too bad/hard to read!

unfortunately there are some racist descriptions of native americans, though i can’t be surprised due to the time period, and they’re fairly limited

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