This book tells the story of Hester Prynne, a young woman who conceives a child while her husband is missing at sea. The Puritan Elders of the New England settlement of Boston, where she lives, condemn her to wear a scarlet letter A to signify her adultery. She refuses to name her lover, and he too keeps his silence, but with a terrible cost.
The tale is prefaced with an account of the Salem Custom-house where Nathaniel Hawthorne was working when he began writing The Scarlet Letter. Summary by Cori Samuel
The tale is prefaced with an account of the Salem Custom-house where Nathaniel Hawthorne was working when he began writing The Scarlet Letter. Summary by Cori Samuel
LibriVox recordings are public domain in the United States; copyright status may differ elsewhere.
Chapters
- Chapter 1
00a - The Custom-House—Introductory to 'The Scarlet Letter'
23:19 - Chapter 2
00b - The Custom-House—Continued
30:47 - Chapter 3
00c - The Custom-House—Concluded
47:46 - Chapter 4
01 - The Prison-Door
03:29 - Chapter 5
02 - The Market-Place
23:08 - Chapter 6
03 - The Recognition
21:24 - Chapter 7
04 - The Interview
16:03 - Chapter 8
05 - Hester at Her Needle
23:30 - Chapter 9
06 - Pearl
24:20 - Chapter 10
07 - The Governor's Hall
16:15 - Chapter 11
08 - The Elf-Child and the Minister
20:39 - Chapter 12
09 - The Leech
23:41 - Chapter 13
10 - The Leech and His Patient
23:05 - Chapter 14
11 - The Interior of a Heart
17:44 - Chapter 15
12 - The Minister's Vigil
25:31 - Chapter 16
13 - Another View of Hester
19:33 - Chapter 17
14 - Hester and the Physician
14:56 - Chapter 18
15 - Hester and Pearl
15:00 - Chapter 19
16 - A Forest Walk
13:59 - Chapter 20
17 - The Pastor and His Parishioner
23:16 - Chapter 21
18 - A Flood of Sunshine
15:08 - Chapter 22
19 - The Child at the Brook-side
16:46 - Chapter 23
20 - The Minister in a Maze
25:30 - Chapter 24
21 - The New England Holiday
20:27 - Chapter 25
22 - The Procession
24:21 - Chapter 26
23 - The Revelation of the Scarlet Letter
20:53 - Chapter 27
24 - Conclusion
14:31