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] The novel has inspired numerous film, television, and stage adaptations. Critics have described The Scarlet Letter as a masterwork,[4] and novelist D. H. Lawrence called it a "perfect work of the American imagination".[5]
