THE SCARLET LETTER. A Romance
by Hawthorne Nathaniel
- Used
- Hardcover
- first
- Condition
- See description
- Seller
-
Newburyport, Massachusetts, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
The first printing of THE SCARLET LETTER consisted of only 2500 copies, and sold out within days. It is said when Hawthorne delivered the final pages to Ticknor, Reed and Fields he doubted it would be popular, but THE SCARLET LETTER ushered in the most lucrative period of his long career. The public'a positive response was enormous, but the book was not without its critics. The publication brought protest from natives of Salem, who did not like how Hawthorne depicted their Puritan ancestors. Religious leaders also took issue with the novel's subject, and the 'Church Review' offered that the novel "perpetrates bad morals."
Reviewers from the next generation proved more tolerant. Author D. H. Lawrence argued that there could not be a more perfect work of the American imagination than The Scarlet Letter. Henry James said of the novel; "It is beautiful, admirable, extraordinary; it has in the highest degree that merit which I have spoken of as the mark of Hawthorne's best things—an indefinable purity and lightness of conception... One can often return to it; it supports familiarity and has the inexhaustible charm and mystery of great works of art.
Synopsis
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance (1850) is considered the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'masterwork.' A work of historical fiction set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Puritan settlement of 1642-1949 itells the story of Hester Prynne, who after having a child as a result of an extra-marital affair attempts to live a life of repentance and dignity although she is marked by having to wear a Scarlett A on her person. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. The Scarlett Letter was one of the first mass-produced novels in the United States, prior printing of books generally done by hand. The 2,500 copies first printed sold out in days, and the mass-production of books opened up conversation about books and authors to a wider-audience on a national level. The first edition of The Scarlet Letter sold out in ten days and “made Hawthorne’s fame, changed his fortune and gave to our literature its first symbolic novel a year before the appearance of Melville’s Moby-Dick” (Bradley). Although an instant best-seller, the books sales over fourteen years only brought the author $1500.
Read More: Identifying first editions of THE SCARLET LETTER. A Romance
Reviews
An absolute criticism of Puritan society. Hawthorne portrays the hypocritic sides of the society by pointing its discrepancies and ill-interpreted biblical sides deeds. He also shows that the society was not working in the name of god as stated; instead worked for a group of people (especially powerful) that keep the lines in hand.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Buddenbrooks, Inc. (US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 33091
- Title
- THE SCARLET LETTER. A Romance
- Author
- Hawthorne Nathaniel
- Book Condition
- Used
- Binding
- Hardcover
- Publisher
- Ticknor, Reed and Fields
- Place of Publication
- Boston
- Date Published
- 1850
Terms of Sale
Buddenbrooks, Inc.
About the Seller
Buddenbrooks, Inc.
About Buddenbrooks, Inc.
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