The Scarlet Letter

<p><em>The Scarlet Letter: A Romance</em> is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne published in 1850.</p><p>Set in Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649 the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne who conceives a daughter through an affair and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. The book explores themes of legalism sin and guilt.</p><p>The Scarlet Letter was one of the first mass-produced books in America. It was popular when first published and is considered a classic work today. It inspired numerous film television and stage adaptations. Critics have described it as a masterwork and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a "perfect work of the American imagination". Source: Wikipedia<br /> </p>