Hailed by Henry James as "the finest pieceof imaginative writing yet put forth in thecountry," Nathaniel Hawthorne's The ScarletLetter reaches to our nation'shistorical and moral roots for the material of greattragedy. Set in an early New England colony, the novelshows the terrible impact a single, passionate acthas on the lives of three members of thecommunity- the defiant Hester Prynne; the fiery, torturedReverend Dimmesdale; and the obsessed, vengefulChillingworth.

With The ScarletLetter, Hawthorne became the first Americannovelist to forge from our Puritan heritage auniversal classic, a masterful exploration ofhumanity's unending struggle with sin, guilt and pride.