The Scarlet Letter

Written by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Narrated by LibriVox Community

The story begins in seventeenth-century Salem, Massachusetts, then a Puritan settlement. A young woman, Hester Prynne, is led from the town prison with her infant daughter, Pearl, in her arms and the scarlet letter “A” on her breast. The scarlet letter "A" represents the act of adultery that she has committed; it is to be a symbol of her sin for all to see. She will not reveal her lover’s identity, however, and the scarlet letter, along with her public shaming, is her punishment for her sin and her secrecy. (Summary adapted from Wikipedia)

• Language: English
• Publisher: LibriVox
• Release date: Aug 25, 2014

Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864) was an American writer whose work was aligned with the Romantic movement. Much of his output, primarily set in New England, was based on his anti-puritan views. He is a highly regarded writer of short stories, yet his best-known works are his novels, including The Scarlet Letter (1850), The House of Seven Gables (1851), and The Marble Faun (1860). Much of his work features complex and strong female characters and offers deep psychological insights into human morality and social constraints.

Reviews for The Scarlet Letter

[Tabby Moore · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I could not enjoy the story at all because of how terrible the audiobook was. The first two chapters DRAGGED on, and once the story actually started, the narrator spoke too fast and had to do a commercial at the end of every chapter. Librivox recordings are terrible.