Back الحرف القرمزي Arabic Kerukafa twa (suterot) AVK La lletra escarlata (novel·la) Catalan Šarlatové písmeno Czech Det flammende bogstav Danish Der scharlachrote Buchstabe German Το άλικο γράμμα Greek La letra escarlata Spanish داغ ننگ Persian La Lettre écarlate (roman) French
 Title page, first edition, 1850 | |
| Author | Nathaniel Hawthorne |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Romantic, Historical |
| Publisher | Ticknor, Reed & Fields |
Publication date | 16 March 1850[1] |
| Publication place | United States |
| 813.3 | |
| Text | The Scarlet Letter at Wikisource |
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, published in 1850.[2] Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. As punishment, she must wear a scarlet letter 'A' (for "adultery"). Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin and guilt.
The Scarlet Letter was one of the first mass-produced books in the United States. It was popular when first published[3] and is considered a classic work of American literature.[2] Commonly listed among the Great American Novels,[4] it has inspired numerous film, television, and stage adaptations. Critics have described The Scarlet Letter as a masterwork,[5] and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a "perfect work of the American imagination".[6]
- ^ "On Saturday, March 16, Will Be Published, In One Volume, 16 mo, bound in cloth and paper, The Scarlet Letter, A Romance, By Nathaniel Hawthorne". Boston Evening Transcript. March 9, 1850. p. 3.
- ^ a b "The 100 best novels: No 16 – The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (1850)". The Guardian. 6 January 2014.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
McFarland136was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Delbanco, Nicholas (February 21, 2014). "Review: 'The Dream of the Great American Novel' by Lawrence Buell". Chicago Tribune.
- ^ Seabrook, Andrea (March 2, 2008). "Sinner, Victim, Object, Winner". National Public Radio (NPR). (A quotation in the article refers to The Scarlet Letter as Hawthorne's "masterwork"; in the audio version, the novel is referred to as his "magnum opus".)
- ^ Miller, Edwin Haviland (1991). Salem is My Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne. Iowa City: University of Iowa Press. ISBN 0-87745-332-2.