In Puritan Boston, Hester Prynne bears a child out of wedlock and must wear a scarlet 'A', while the father's hidden guilt festers. A study of sin, shame, and hypocrisy in a rigid community.
Books mentioned in The Scarlet Letter (3)
Annals of Salem by Joseph B. Felt: “I remembered to have read (probably in Felt's "Annals") a notice of the decease of Mr. Surveyor Pue, about fourscore years ago; …”
Memoirs of P.P., Clerk of this Parish by Alexander Pope: “The example of the famous "P. P., Clerk of this Parish," was never more faithfully followed.”
Main Street by Nathaniel Hawthorne: “A portion of his facts, by-the-by, did me good service in the preparation of the article entitled "MAIN STREET," included in the present volume.”
Books that mention The Scarlet Letter (9)
Billy Budd by Herman Melville: “I have thus far omitted all mention of his _Twice Told Tales_, and _Scarlet Letter_. Both are excellent”
The Story of My Life by Helen Keller: “One day my teacher found me in a corner of the library poring over the pages of "The Scarlet Letter."”
The Virginian by Owen Wister: “else THE SCARLET LETTER were not historical.”
Elmer Gantry by Sinclair Lewis: “to regard “Les Miserables” as superior because the bishop was a kind man, and “The Scarlet Letter” as a poor book”
The Professor's House by Willa Cather: “He could charge up the time spent in perusing "The Scarlet Letter" to Colonial history, and "Tom Sawyer" to the Missouri Compromise, it was said.”
How to Read and Why by Harold Bloom: “Never much of a novel reader, Emerson read The Scarlet Letter but under esteemed it”
The Art of Fiction by Ayn Rand: “One good aspect of the old silent movie of The Scarlet Letter, starring Lillian Gish, was that it dramatized... important events that in the novel are merely told about.”
Alias Grace by Margaret Atwood: “He is surprised to find a clergyman reading Hawthorne...especially after The Scarlet Letter...”
Companion Piece by Ali Smith: “What book was that? The Scarlet Letter. I took it off the shelf. It was a paperback as old as me and still pristine.”