Lovers of historical fiction and classic American literature, you will want to read Hester, a Scarlet Letter origin story set in Salem in the 1800s.

Nineteen-year-old Isobel, descendant of a woman accused of witchcraft, finds herself on a ship from Scotland to the New World. There she meets the quiet 14-yr-old Nathanial Hathorne, a descendent of an unapologetic judge of the Salem Witch Trials.

One of my favorite parts of the novel is the lively description of Salem settlement as Isobel arrives after thirty-three days at sea. The Salem setting continues to be vividly described and easy to imagine.

Hester is well-researched and atmospheric as Isobel, our heroine, in her own way challenges the power of the men and society. While Isobel faces her own personal struggles, she learns the dark history of Salem. As an outsider, Isobel is also piecing together race relations and attitudes towards immigrants in Salem.

Isobel has a gift for embroidery and finds power in her needle and thread. Some may find the details of embroidery and sewing in this novel to be excessive. The author also takes time to describe Isoabel’s synesthesia, when one sees colors in letters and words, which adds an enchanted quality to Isobel’s perceptions and craft.

I can see where some might find this novel longer than it needs to be or too descriptive, but I mostly appreciated the attention to detail and found Isobel’s story engaging.

In a way, Hester is a coming-of-age story and Isobel realizes that for women accused of being witches in the past and still for her personally, so many years later, life decisions for women are made by men, and she has to learn to survive despite them.

This review is posted on Goodreads Michelle Beginandendwithbooks and on Instagram and Facebooks @beginandendwithbooks

Hester, by Laurie Lico Albanese, is an imaginative telling of the woman who inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s character, Hester Phrynne in The Scarlet Letter. This historical fiction takes place first in Scotland, then in Salem, Massachusetts covering the witch trials in the 1660s and the after-effects of the trials that still lingered in the 1820s.

Isobel Gamble was a descendent of Isobel Gowdie, who escaped before being hung as a witch in Scotland. Both of the women had synesthesia, a sensory phenomenon where letters and words are associated with colors. The letter A is seen as scarlet red, B is blue, C is yellow, and D is green. Because this condition was misunderstood to be sorcery, it had to be kept hidden. Isobel Gamble and her husband are forced to flee Scotland because of her husband’s debts and drug habit. They end up in Salem, where Isobel meets, Nathaniel Hathorne. Isobel is a talented seamstress and embroiderer whose designs are highly valued.

Nathaniel Hathorne was a descendant of John Hathorne, the judge in Salem whose family was cursed by a woman he found guilty of being a witch. Hathorne, who later changes his name to Hawthorne, is described as a haunted man held captive by the ghosts of his family. When Isobel Gamble’s husband leaves Salem on a ship, she and Hawthorne begin an adulterous relationship.

The first part of the novel dragged for me, but it did pick up in the second half. I enjoyed the historical fiction aspects of the witch trials as well as life in the 1800s. There is an interesting side story involving free slaves and slave catchers.

4-stars. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press for my advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review. This novel was published on October 4, 2022.

I was in love with Hester from the first moment. Laurie Lico Albanese's lyrical prose and the image of women having strength even when they weren't allowed. Pulled me right in.

Isobel Gamble a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets and in an effort to keep herself safe marries Edward, an apothecary. But after the poppy takes over the apothecary, she finds herself leaving Scotland for the New World in the early 1800s. When they arrive Edward hatches a harebrained plan to travel as a ship's doctor and leaves Isobel alone and without any money. Left to fend for herself she forges relationships with her neighbor,a free black woman, the captain of the ship that she sailed in on, and Nathaniel Hathorne (he picks up the “W” for writing). As she becomes known for her embroidery work and it looks like Edward will never return, Isobel and Nathaniel grow closer than society would prefer. But this love is only one of the secrets Isobel has to keep.

I loved the use of synesthesia in this book. This is where one sensory input is output in a different way. For example, they wouldn't just see “A”, they would see “A” in scarlet. While there are many types this is what happens with Isobel as hearing words in colors. The author ties this into the witchcraft fears in both Scotland and Salem. Her grandmother could see the colors and so can she. Her mother tells her to never speak of it. The reason I enjoyed this is that so many myths are made up by not understanding science. This would have been something science would not have been able to explain back then.

The historical can fictional aspect blend together for an imaginative tale that gives Hester Prynne respect and agency. Or as much agency as women were allowed during that time. It was good to see Isobel make what she could out of what she was giving. It is as hopeful as it is tragic. The author admits this particular person wasn't real but that she feels someone inspired Hester and her story.

Hester is beautifully written full of love, sadness, and adventure.

Publication Date: October 12

I received an ARC from the publisher; all opinions are my own.

It's a rare gift that I am filled with so much concern worrying over a fate already written and belonging to someone else. For it to be someone fictional and in a historical setting makes it even more unusual.
The novel Hester gave me that gift, many times over.

The summary of the book available from the publisher says so much about the plot, I don’t know if there’s anything I can add to it without adding spoilers. So, I’m just going to include it here for you to read again:

“Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Glasgow for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic––leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible.

When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows––while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?

In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country's complicated past, and learns that America's ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel's story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a "real" American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of "unusual" women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Laurie Lico Albanese's Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down.”

Laurie Lico Albanese has done a masterful job with this bewitching tapestry of a novel. She writes extensively of her research in the Notes and Acknowledgements section at the end of the book.

The main character, Isobel, seemed so familiar to me. I feel as though we are soul-sisters, connected throughout and despite place and time, fact and fiction… Her story may have had some embroidered embellishments, but it also felt so very real. Isobel's thoughts and emotions read like a real person's, a real young woman's. I'm not very familiar with historical fiction or the time periods referenced in the book, but the settings all felt real, too.

Hester came at a perfect time for me, as I question what it is to be a witch and a woman, I read of women accused of witchcraft. Some women embrace the accusation; there is power in fear. Some women shy away from it in terror; there is room for repentance to many. And some women wonder if the accusations are true, if they really can twist the fabric of reality, tearing the hems and resewing them anew, or by hiding words of power in plain sight. Some of those women will think, "maybe I did enchant him/her/this", and recount their steps, examining their motives and desires until they become convinced of their own guilt -- but then, something incredible happens; they embody a transformation as guilt becomes confidence and vulnerability, strength.
Maybe some witches are born, and some are made.
And some stories are magical.
This is one.
Whether you are a woman, a witch, or someone who creates fiber art, this book may just be exactly what you're looking for.

Content Warning: This book includes some depictions of chattel slavery, slavecatchers, insensitive (but period-appropriate) language choices, and racially segregated squalor that some may find disturbing. I would say it might be too much for those who are very sensitive, but it should be tolerable for most adults.

The only thing I noticed that was at all in need of a potential final edit was that there seemed to be a discrepancy in Isobel’s word choice for Black people. Most of the time, she calls them Black, as she notes that is what Mercy calls herself. However, there were a handful of times where she slipped into the use of “colored”, but that might have been conversational to match the tone of those with whom she spoke. Also of note, several side characters and posted notices use the words “negro” and “slave” to refer to Black people.

I highly recommend Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese. It subtly blends history, witchcraft, feminism, and fiber arts into a delightful concoction. I'm here for it. And I cried for it, throughout the final chapters and even through the final notes. I don't know if the author has written other books, but I will certainly follow her work now.

I received a copy of this book at no cost from NetGalley.

Initially, I wasn't sure about this book, the main character Isobel felt a little distant and disconnected to me. However, as the story progressed I was admittedly pulled into this alternative take of a classic. I'm not typically a fan of historical fiction but there is something about witchcraft and the early American oppression which shaped the future of the country that I find so fascinating. I'm really glad I read this book and while not super spooky, or witchy it was still a great October inspired read. Thank you so much for an early copy!

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese is an intriguing piece, well written with a beautiful message of hope, love and trust.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a free arc in exchange for an honest review.

So enjoyed Laurie Licorice Albanese’s story, in my mind explaining the classic book, The Scarlet Letter. The dual timelines worked seamlessly to weave an enchanting story of two Isobel’s - several generations between them - living their lives while dealing with society norms and expectations. It remains incomprehensible to me that women were persecuted and killed, identified as witches, for such inane reasons. Loved both Isobels and found myself wishing that the scoundrel, Nat, would himself be accused.'mm
My favorite part of historical fiction are the author’s notes and Albanese’s portrait of Salem during the witchcraft trials with everyone so very paranoid seemed very realistic.
Many thanks to Laurie Lico Albanese’s for creating this magical story, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for affording me the opportunity to read an arc of this fascinating story.

What an amazingly written book! I read The Scarlet Letter in high school, just like many others, and then again in college. I enjoyed it more the 2nd time around. This however, is a book about the woman, Isobel, who inspired Hester Prynne. I absolutely loved Isobel’s story from beginning to end. She is such a strongly written character as are so many of the other secondary characters.

This book has a catchy title, being one word, it makes you think---hmmm what is this about?
The history of slaves, Salem and Nathaniel Hathorne/Hawthorne is brought up in many English classes.
The way Hester can see colors is also fascinating. As a speech therapist, we learn about the differences with people and it is becoming more prevalent, how people see letters, numbers and "feel" the words as colors. It was shunned before, but now it is being talked about and the individuals that have this, can experience it without the negativity. The use of opium/poppy back in the day was also a common thing that today we know is dangerous.
Hester has made me want to read The Scarlet Letter. This book is the perfect book to read and share--and can provide history and knowledge to my students. My high school students will start with the Scarlet Letter after they get the chance to read Hester, which is what they will be assigned. I am looking forward to having them read this book and get their feedback.

Hester was a had a really unique and interesting perspective on The Scarlett Letter. I read the Scarlett Letter YEARS ago in high school and while I remember the gist of the book, some of the details were a little fuzzy. Hester was really good and now I want to go back and read the original! Hester was honestly the perfect fall, spooky season read. Witches, Magic, old town Salem MA and little snippets of Scotland. It was perfect and I loved it all.

Who else remembers crying their way through the scarlett letter. I was a little reluctant at first because reading it in my high school literature class was so painful. However, I was so happy that I gave this a chance! The way that we treated women who didn't "behave" is appalling.

I loved following Isobel and her synesthesia. I think her choice in becoming a seamstress was a great premise. I loved how strong Isobel was and how she was able to find her way. I would recommend this to anyone who had to read the scarlett letter growing up!

Rating: 4.5/5⭐️
Pub day: October 4, 2022

Hester is a vivid well-written historical fiction inspired by Hawthorne’s “The Scarlett Letter.” It shines a light on a tough and courageous female character and also describes the incredible networks of underground railroads—and how essential they were to freedom from the south.

This story is set in a time when one wrong step could have you vilified as a witch and it also does a deep dive into the Salem Witch Trials from a few centuries earlier. The author did a fantastic job of weaving facts into a compelling story that I didn’t want to put down.

This whole tale was transportive and magical, and even if you haven’t read The Scarlet Letter I think you’d enjoy this. And don’t miss the author’s note—it was wonderful and I highly recommended finishing the book with it!

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the digital arc in exchange for an honest review.

I would love to see this turned into a series or movie!

This was a very readable and entertaining historical fiction book. I really liked the premise, especially as I enjoyed The Scarlet Letter back in high school. The story moved at a great pace and the writing was enjoyable.

The reason I didn't rate the book higher is because I didn't feel like the author addressed race very well. She compared the experience of immigrants to formerly enslaved people in a way that equated their experiences, which is very inaccurate and harmful. Immigrants were not discriminated against to the same degree as Black and Indigenous Peoples in the US, but the book might make the reader think otherwise.

This was an interesting read. It’s the story of Isobel, the woman who inspired the character Hester and the story “The Scarlet Letter” by Nathaniel Hawthorne.

It’s the 1800’s and Isobel leaves Scotland with her husband, Edward, to live in Salem in the New World. Edward is an apothecary who has fallen in debt and addicted to opium. Isobel is a talented needleworker who has synesthesia, a condition in which letters and words and sounds are perceived through color. A gift that is viewed as witchcraft in these times.

Once in Salem, Edward immediately joins a ship to serve as a medic, leaving Isobel alone and poor. Isobel must use her talent as a means to make money. While Edward is away, she starts to get closer to Nathaniel Hawthorne.

It’s a unique tale about immigrants, class, poverty and slavery. Sprinkled in are excerpts of the Salem witch trials. Isobel is an amazing character who goes through a lot of strife but ultimately her persistence and creativity prevail. This is a time where women do not have rights but she took the initiative to make money and did what she had to do to survive. It’s also a story of passion and romance. Overall the plot is captivating and the writing is beautiful, I definitely recommend.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy in exchange for my honest review.

Do you, like me, love historical novels about witches? Do you also love reading about the everyday things that make a woman’s life work? Do you love the idea that there is magic/power in sewing and herb craft? And do you love the idea of such a woman living in Salem, Mass., in the early nineteenth century?

Well, there’s an excellent book out there, just for you! It’s called “Hester: A Novel,” by Laurie Lico Albanese, and you should read it. Go buy it right now.

Our heroine, Hester, begins life in Scotland, but sails to the US with her husband Edward, ending up in Salem. And oh, Salem, you are still a hot mess more than 100 years after the witch trials. Not surprisingly, they still hate and fear anything that could possibly be witchcraft. They also have a lot of ill will, period. But our Hester is descended from a long line of witches, and, well, she has interesting traits that make her stitching unique and fabulous.

I don’t want to give too much away, but the best way to sum up the big storyline is that Hester and her fabulous talents end up being an inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “The Scarlet Letter.” Yes, she definitely knows “Nat” Hawthorne in this book.

This book covers a lot of territory, including the Underground Railroad, but Albanese keeps every single ball in the air. Her writing style remains lively and highly readable, no matter what the subject in the book. I’m going to start reading her other books as soon as I’m done with this review.

“Hester” is absolutely one of the best books of the year. Like I said, buy it!

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me a copy of this fabulous book to review!

this started out very strong and engaging as we follow her moving to a new place and meeting Hathorne, trying to make it as a single woman once she finds out her husband is presumed dead. the story is good and well done, but i personally felt it became a bit preachy in its feminism

Hester is a wonderfully crafted, imaginative story about who the real character, Hester Prynne could have been in author Nathaniel Hawthorne’s novel The Scarlett Letter. With most of Hawthorne’s novels, historians have always been able to trace the backstory to his college years or childhood, etc. But no one has been able to figure out who Hester Prynne was to Nathaniel Hawthorne. Or where the idea for the story came from.

Laurie Lico Albanese’s take on the mystery is not only riveting, but masterfully played out.

Isobel Gambel is a young talented seamstress in the 1800’s who lives in Scotland. Trained by her now dead mother, she is a skillful, imaginative sewer just as the women in her family have been for decades. Some had even been accused of being witches.

When it’s time, she marries a doctor, Edward because she believes he is kind and she feels a sense of security with him. But unbeknownst to Isobel, Edward has a terrible addiction to opioids. When Isobel discovers there is no money and Edward becomes the talk of the town, they decide to sail by ship to Salem in hopes to start a new life. It is there as she is stepping off the ship that she glimpses a handsome man she finds out is Nathaniel Hawthorne.

While Isobel begins to establish herself as a talented seamstress in Salem, Edward decides to take a job as a medic on a ship leaving her by herself with barely any money in a town which she is not totally comfortable. As time passes, she begins to get close to Nathaniel who has admired her work and has requested she make something for him. Not sure of Edward’s whereabouts, they begin an affair. And Isobel is beside herself when she realizes she is pregnant, and Edward has been gone too long for the town’s people to think it is his. She hides the pregnancy and keeps the information from Nathaniel.

When she finally does tell Nathaniel, she cannot believe what she hears. And then Edward returns. Isobel is an adulterer and fears for her and her baby’s safety. But there are friends who she can rely on. Staying in Salem would be a death sentence. What can Isobel possibly do?

Hester tackles more than just a story of adultery. It tells of secrets which had been kept in Salem during that time period as well as how much a young woman cast aside can endure by being tortured and embarrassed in a gossipy town. It also shows her strength in understanding what must be done.

Although we may never know Hawthorne’s inspiration for The Scarlett Letter, this account is both captivating and bewitching!

Thank you #NetGalley #St.Martin’sPress #Hester #LaurieLicoAlbanese for the advanced copy.

MV Rating: 7/10

- Hester is a Scottish girl who marries young, and has many secrets. She experiences synesthesia, which for her ancestors was equal to witchcraft, and channels her energy into beautiful sewing.
- After her new husband loses everything due to opioid addiction, they relocate to the US where he immediately gets a job as a ship medic and leaves Hester to defend herself. While she manages her new life, she meets Nat Hawthorne and things. get. Intense.
- I don't know when I expected from this book, I thought it'd be a spooky one based on the cover & setting in Salem, but it was SO MUCH more.
- It's rare that a book comes out so balanced for me - there's independent women, honest representations of America that are true to the time frame, romance, and just enough drama to keep it going I was super satisfied with the book.

If you're in the mood for a mesmerizing story that checks all the boxes, you'll love this one!

Wow. I was so excited just reading about this book! A fictional female character--descended from a Salem woman accused of witchcraft--who is the inspiration for Hester in Nathanial Hawthorne's The Scarlett Letter?! This novel hit on some of my favorite tropes--books about books, social issues through history, and a complex female protagonist at the forefront. I was IN.

Isobel Gamble is a Scottish seamstress who emigrates with her apothecary husband to America. After a short time in Salem, her husband (an addict) sets off on a ship, leaving her alone and unable to afford rent. She uses her exceptional needlework talents to survive.

Isobel's life in Salem isn't easy. The town and its inhabitants are haunted by the sins of its past. Isobel is continually subjected to hate because she's an immigrant and a woman. She is appalled by the institution of slavery and how it still festers in Salem. Her saving graces are letting her creativity shine through her needlework and spending time with the intriguing Nathaniel "Nat" Hawthorne, a fledgling writer who is obsessed with being better than his descendent, who promoted burning women at the stake. Isobel and Nat's connection is passionate yet tenuous--she hates that he's a proponent of slavery and knows he's too concerned with appearances to truly give her the love she deserves.

I'm thrilled to say that this engrossing book exceeded my expectations. Laurie Lico Albanese has put such a great feminist spin on this already intriguing tale. Isobel isn't just a fascinating character--she becomes the focus of a bigger literary narrative: How an anti-immigrant/patriarchal worldview permeated "the new world," and harmed anyone who threatened its supremacy. The descriptions of Isobel's synesthesia (she "sees" in colors) are gorgeously written. Albanese has written a romantic, powerful, enchanting book. I highly recommend it!

This wonderful novel speculates on the inspiration behind Nathaniel Hawthorne’s THE SCARLET LETTER. Hester is portrayed as Isobel, a determined young woman who wants to keep her family’s past accusations of witchcraft in Scotland a secret as she arrives in the new world hoping for a better life. Unfortunately Salem isn’t the best place for her to land! The author brings Isobel to life on the page, sharing not only her dreams but also her fears, loneliness,and doubts. It is easy to imagine she is the Hester about whom Hawthorne writes.

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC to read and review.