3.5 starts. Hester started out interesting enough, though a lot more about sewing and needlework than I would have liked, though some of it was slightly interesting at times. Things pick up a bit once the main characters arrive in Salem and when Nathaniel Hawthorne comes on the scene, but the pacing was still way too slow for me to be truly engaged. The book slogged along while we waited for all the things to happen that we knew would happen (assuming we've all read Scarlet Letter) and while we heard more and more about all the exciting possibilities of embroidery. Wow, I'm nodding off just writing about sewing so much. It's a good thing this book is so short or I have DNF'd instead of waiting for exciting stuff to happen.

One of my other big complaints is the main character's anachronistic view of slavery. It's not ridiculous to think that someone from Britain who comes to America might have a more negative view of slavery than the majority of Americans of the time, but the way she talks about it rubbed me the wrong way every single time. I'm not sure I can point out exactly what was so anachronistic, but the main character simply could not understand how someone could own another person, something that couldn't have been widespread in the early 1800s. I instantly was thrown out of the book every time a character referred to someone as Black with a capital B, which is a very very modern spelling, and I think unlikely to be used at this time. I may be wrong because I haven't studied this time period, but I think most whites would call Blacks negroes at this point. Any time I saw that capital B, I was reminded that this was a book and that I was in the 21st century, not the 19th where I wanted my mind to be.

It wasn't until about 60% that the book starts to pick up and get interesting. By the final quarter, the book was humming along and nicely paced, but I can't ignore how slow the first 3/4 of the book is and how close I came to DNFing. The idea behind the book is a great one. Hester Prynne is one of American literature's greatest heroines and it's a cool idea wondering if she had a real-life inspiration, but it takes way too long for this book to get going and it really is too much about sewing. I get that this is how a woman would have supported herself, and it was almost slightly interesting all the stuff about synesthesia, but not really. She can support herself with sewing without us needing to read about every single stitch that she makes. Every time I read another section about what the main character was going to sew, it made me wonder if maybe this author really didn't have enough material for a whole book, so she just added section after section about needles and thread to beef it up. It's sad because the last part of the book was so cool that if the author had just started that part earlier and beefed that section up, it easily could have been a 4 star read for me.

I received a free copy of this book through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese
Rating: 4 stars
Pub date: 10/4

The Scarlet Letter is one of my favorite classics, so when I heard that Hester was a reimagining of how Nathaniel Hawthorne created the iconic character, Hester Prynne, I jumped at the chance to read it.

Isobel Gamble is a young and very talented seamstress living in Scotland in 1829. She has synthesia, a rare sensory phenomenon where you see colors in words, and she has been hiding the condition all her life so people wouldn’t think she was crazy. Her family has a complicated history with being accused of witchcraft and she has no intention of repeating their mistakes. When her husband Edward’s opium addiction bankrupts them, they head to Salem, MA to start a new life.

The captain of the ship that brings them to America takes a liking to the couple and offers to bring Edward along with him on his next run for medical supplies. Isobel finds herself alone in Salem and has to rely on her talents and some new friends to help her get by. When she meets a troubled yet fascinating young author named Nathaniel Hawthorne, they begin the affair that would inspire the story of The Scarlet Letter.

This story is really well done. The author does an incredible job of transporting the reader back and forth between Scotland and Salem with a dual timeline, and the descriptions of each place made me feel like I was there. This seems like an accurate portrayal of what it was like to live in Salem during this time period, where gender and race disparity were still all too present. I loved learning more about the witch trials in both Salem and in Scotland, along with how the underground railroad was conducted throughout New England.

The pacing is very slow but when it was over I felt like I really knew Isobel and I was able to cheer for her successes and cry right along with her when she failed. If you like historical fiction reimaginings that breathe new life into old stories, then definitely check this out tomorrow when it hits shelves!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the gifted copy.

Having recently finished “Hester '' by Laurie Lico Albanese, I am happy to have had the chance for the e-copy; thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press!

Was this historical novel ever a fascinating and entertaining story! My memories and details of reading The Scarlet Letter MANY years ago in high school American Lit are very vague at this point, but from what I recall, the hours spent reading the required Hawthorne novel were definitely NOT as entertaining! I loved the creativity and concept for this possible origin of the classic.

For me, the most interesting parts of “Hester” were the moments the author spent detailing the “needle and thread” skills and abilities of the synesthesia-afflicted seamstress. Her creations were explained in a way that seemed to bring them to life in the story. I can even imagine that the gorgeous cover art was stitched by Isobel Gamble in 1829, especially when the tiny, scarlet “A” popped out at me! Very clever!!

Laurie Lico Albanese crafts a vividly creative story in Hester, conjuring the inspiration for the Nathaniel Hawthorne's Hester Prynne of The Scarlet Letter. Isobel, our Hester stand-in, immigrates to New England from Scotland with her sewing skills and questionable husband in tow.

Isobel does not have an easy go of her new life, viewed as "other" by most of the town, and needs to put her needle to work to survive. Isobel ekes out a living as a seamstress, glove maker, embroiderer. My favorite parts of the book are the vibrant descriptions of the colors, threads, fabrics Isobel uses in her fancy creations. There is a pair of gloves emblazoned with a leopard that I covet. The people of Salem are richly described, from the pettiness and hierarchy to its troubled past with the witch trials of the 1600s. Things get interesting when she makes the acquaintance of Nat Hathorne, struggling author and great-great-great grandson of one of the judges of the Salem witch trials.

Interwoven with the narrative of their friendship is the accounting of Isobel's ancestress, on trial for hardships encountered by her town in Scotland and accused of being a witch. Also present are the happenings of The Underground Railroad in Salem. It may sound like a lot, but Laurie Lico Albanese sticks the landing - it comes together beautifully.

My thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC in exchange for an honest review. Hester will be published in October 2022.

“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, 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.”

I’m having a hard time with this review, as I hardly know where to start.

The gorgeous writing? Generally, when someone describes prose as ‘lyrical’, they likely mean the author needs to step away from their Thesaurus, but not this book. This book was BEAUTIFULLY written.

The twining of racism and sexism? Obviously, I’ve always considered the persecution of ‘witches’ through the lens of feminism (Patriarchy’s the worst, amirite?), but I’d never paralleled the intersectionality (can intersectionality parallel? No matter.) between witches and slaves.

Guys, I LOVED this book.

I loved the cover.

I loved all the crafty talk.

I loved the descriptions of both Scotland and America.

I loved the relationships between the women, both good and bad.

I loved that Isobel was Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter muse.

I HATED Hawthorne.

Ahem.

I wish I had a physical copy of this book, just so I could highlight some of my favourite bits, because guys, this book is QUOTABLE.

“Why do men bind themselves to flags and nations, and women bind themselves to love?”

“It’s not that we are witches or fairies, or that we deny god. It’s that we are more beautiful together than apart.”

“As long as men are cruel and greedy, there will be refugees from other worlds – children running for freedom – Folks that need help.”

For the love. ADD. TO. CART.

9.5/10

Thanks to NetGalley, St. Martin’s Press, and Macmillan Audio for this haunting ARC.

Isobel Gamble leaves her beloved Scotland to follow her disgraced husband to America for a fresh start. He abandons her almost immediately to sail to distant lands to chase his opium dreams. Now alone in a strange land, Isobel must become independent in a time when behaviour is watched and whispered about. Through Isobel’s tenacity, passion, and creativity she builds a reputation as an exquisite seamstress. Then she falls in love with Nathaniel Hathorne and the course of her life takes a drastic turn. From the witch trials in Scotland and Salem to the plight of slaves and the Underground Railroad, Hester weaves a hauntingly beautiful story of who Hester Prynne might have been.

Readers who enjoy historical fiction about independent women, or stories of strangers in a strange land, will be drawn to this book. I found it completely captivating and didn’t want it to end.

I’d like to thank St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

This is one of my most anticipated reads of the year and honestly this book did not disappoint. I read and listened along together to this book with the audio addition as well as the physical book. This book is about Lisobel Gamble and Nathaniel Hathorne, later in the book when he publishes The Scarlett Letter he adds the w to his name.

“History isn’t what’s written or told. History is hidden away in dark corners and shadows.”

This book is a dual timeline between Scotland starting in 1662 when Isobel Gowdie, the Isobel in the story is in her linkage line, is on trial for being a witch. And Salem, Mass 1829 where Lisobel and Nathaniel meet. In Salem Lisobel is trying to make a living with her needlework while her husband is sailing around the world in hopes of finding new cures he can sell in his apothecary. Nathaniel has graduated recently from college and is trying to to become a writer but is troubled by his families troubled past and his ancestors part in the Salem witch trials.

The book was such an interesting read. Growing up i always thought that somehow the puritans just “made it work: and created a home in the New World. But they used slaves, bartered and traded with other countries and it wasn’t all rainbows and sunshine. This book showcases not only the power of women and how we have to harness it and use it but also the fight against evil.

This book is a must read. I grew up loving the book The Scarlett Letter and so this was one I was dying to read but let me just say it exceeded my expectations. Run do not walk and get this book.

I read the Scarlett Letter in high school and just remember liking it but not much detail of the story. I enjoyed this book too. This was an emotional story that has a happy ending. There were some slow parts. My favorite part of the book was the character growth.

To be honest, I am pretty sure I only read the cliff notes of The Scarlet Letter in high school. Much of my knowledge of the storyline comes from the movie Easy A and I am not super proud of that fact. However, reading Hester makes me want to go back and read The Scarlet Letter because I found the time period fascinating.

Isobel is young when she is married and moves to Salem from Scotland. Isobel’s husband is kind of a low life and she is left in Salem to find her own way. She has grown up sewing and her gift is creating enchanting embroidery. Isobel’s life isn’t easy, but she makes great friends that show her what all is going on behind the scenes in Salem. Along the way she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne and his work in writing and her art in sewing inspire one another.

I do not want to give away too much of the plot, but I very much enjoyed the historical part of this story. The author interwove stories from the Salem witch trial and created this inspiration for Hester from the Scarlet Letter. Isobel is a young woman creating a space in a society that doesn’t particularly like women, outsiders, or anyone with special powers. The author did a great job of describing how life would be like for Isobel while incorporating ideas from the original storyline. Great historical fiction read!

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for granting me a free copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.

Hester has so much going on within the story. It drew me in slowly and I couldn’t put it down. I ended up loving this story more then I thought I would.
A riveting fictional story about Nathaniel Hawthorne in the early 1800’s. His writing of The Scarlet Letter and Hester Prynne plays a big part in this story.
The main character is Is0bel Gamble. She sees “colors” everywhere and uses this in her sewing. Some may say this is witchcraft. As a young child, she is told to not let anyone know she has this ability. She is able to take care of herself through doing piece work when her husband decides to leave her to go to sea. All alone, Isabel begins to be drawn toward Nathaniel Hawthorne. He is a dark and moody man with many secrets.
There is a undercurrent of witchcraft throughout the book that is intriguing. The story also brings to light the beginnings of the Underground Railroad.
A beautifully written historical novel by Laurie Lico Albanese that I highly recommend you read.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher and author for the opportunity tor read this book for my honest review. All thoughts expressed are 100% my own.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

Scottish Isobel has inherited synesthesia, where all letters and sounds evoke colors. As a seamstress, this can be a plus, but she must tell no one of this oddity. Relatives have been accused of witchcraft because of it.

It is the early 1820s and newly married Isobel travels to America where she hopes to have her own dress shop. She has been told this is impossible for a woman. Soon, Isobel finds herself alone and penniless in a strange country.

Details of her many seamstress jobs become tedious minutia; the many threads, fabrics, and buttons. She is extremely talented but never gets her due. Soon, lonely Isobel nurtures a relationship with an elusive dreamer, Nathaniel Hawthorne.

The story is good, the writing is ultimately good, but it all gets bogged down in too many details. It’s a three star read from this reviewer. Thank you to #StMartinsPress and #NetGalley for an ARC for my review.

I can’t thank Net Galley, the author, and publisher enough for providing this book for my honest review. Wow. Everyone needs to read this book. Just go read it! This book is inspired by Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. It follows Isobel, a young married lady starting her new life in Salem in 1829 after she and her husband essentially flee Scotland to avoid their debts and her apothecary husband’s drug addiction. Isobel has synesthesia, the ability to see colors in letters and words. It isn’t understood at the time and she must keep it a secret for fear others would misunderstand it for witchcraft. When Isobel lands in Salem, her husband is offered a job sailing and she is left to her own devices in an unknown land. She befriends Nathanial Hawthorne and this beautifully and well researched historical novel imagines that she becomes his muse for the character, Hester, in the novel he one day writes. Another storyline follows Isobel’s relative, Isobel Goldie, who was accused of witchcraft in Scotland in 1662. Both storylines are so interesting and the writing just flows so well. I was lost in this story and felt that I was right there with each Isobel. I can’t wait to read this again and reread The Scarlet Letter as well. Thank you so much to Net Galley, the author, and publisher. This is easily going to be one of my top favorite books I have read this year.

"Isobel was full of obedient determination". When taught embroidery by her mam in early 1800 Scotland, she told mam that "A is red...B is blue. C is yellow." Isobel had synesthesia, the comingling of senses, seeing colors associated with letters. "They'll call you crazy or say you're a witch." The colors must be hidden. "Even as I kept silent, the colors became more vivid and my dreams wilder...". Isobel Gowdie (her namesake) had been accused of witchcraft in 1662.

"Trust the needle". These were the words Isobel Gamble would cling to after husband Edward's debt caused the couple to spend time in the poorhouse. The couple fled Glasgow. Edward, an apothecary, had defamed himself through his opium addiction. Perhaps the promise of a fresh start in the New World would save him. An ocean voyage to Salem. Isobel had to "flee home with [her] colors and [her] needle." The New World seemed to be a land of possibilities. "I wanted to be a dressmaker...put[ting] my visions into cloth in a way that no one questioned...let me keep my secrets in plain sight, where I prayed they would hurt no one, least of all myself." Immediately, however, Edward signed up as a ship's medic and left for Bermuda. Isobel was left to fend for herself.

By the 1800s, the descendants of those accused of witchcraft as well as the families of the accusers lived side by side in Salem, Massachusetts. The sins of one's ancestors weighted heavily on their progeny. In Salem, "a tall man in the long black cape...his features are strong and pleasing, his voice gentle." There were immediate sparks of magnetism between Nathaniel Hawthorne and Isobel Gamble. "We were each in our own way struggling to be free-he with his notebooks, I with my needle." Nat was haunted by his descendants who sent innocent women to the gallows during the New England Witch trials. Isobel was the descendant of Isobel Gowdie, a women tried for witchcraft. Had this solitary writer found his muse?

"Hester" by Laurie Lico Albanese is a reimagining of Hester Prynne, the tragic muse in Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter". The novel, however, is so much more. It examines resident life in Salem circa 1800. Who were the "real" Americans? Isobel Gamble was a red-haired Scottish lass with a noticeable brogue. Isobel's intricate needlework was sold in an exclusive shop under the name of another while she was paid a pittance. Neighbors Mercy and Zeke, born free, would not have the same freedom and liberties as others. The slave catcher was always searching. Salem was a town of strict rules. One must be seen on Sundays attending the "correct" house of worship. Gossipmongers, were always at the ready to obtain and spread juicy tidbits....a pair of gloves spelled disaster.

Author Albanese has infused this historical read with a beautiful tapestry of colorful prose while delivering the tale of a creative seamstress and would be pattern maker. The Puritan culture of the 1800s was loathe to recognize or encourage women's accomplishments. How would Isobel fair? Highly recommended.

Thank you St. Martin's Press and Net Galley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Boy, it is a huge risk for an author to take a character from a well-known work and use that existing work as the skeletal outline for the main character of their own book. It often falls a bit flat, or can leave readers feeling like the original work/author has been somehow disrespected. For every single well done Jane Eyre (Mrs. Rochester!) character launch, there are a dozen or more that have fallen flat. That is not at all the case with Laurie Lico Albanese's Hester.
Hester shines as an example not only of what historical fiction can achieve, but also how an author can respectfully use source material and create something wholly new and original and captivating.
I was given an ARC by NetGalley in exchange for my honest review.

A beautifully written and easily imagined tale of Isobel Gamble, a young seamstress who accompanies her husband Edward from Scotland to America in the early 1800's. Edward, an apothecary addicted to opiates, sets sail as a ship's medic soon after arriving in America, leaving his young wife alone in a strange country where she must find a way to fend for herself.

Isobel sees the world, words, and people in vivid colors which she channels into her beautiful needlework. Her mother warned her as a child to keep "the colors" a closely guarded secret as one of her ancestors, Isobel Gowdy, saw the colors too and was convicted of being a witch in the 1600's. Isobel Gamble knows of the Salem witchcraft trials and realizes there is much to fear of gossip and takes care to keep her secret well.

The book alternates between the two time periods, with the majority of the story focusing on Isobel Gamble. Readers are easily placed into the her life and the time period via the vivid descriptions provided by the author. Isobel meets and develops an interest in Nat Hathorne, a writer, and a man with secrets of his own about his ancestors. It is interesting to watch these two bandy and flirt as their relationship blossoms during Edward's absence. Isobel becomes his muse, and later serves as the inspiration for Hester Prynne in the Scarlet Letter.

I also enjoyed how the author wove in the prevelant beliefs, interests, conventions, and happenings of the time; the restriction of interactions between the races, the beginnings of the underground railroad, the prejudices held against immigrants, and commonly held beliefs about women, especially women who had to work to provide for themselves. America was certainly not the land of the free for everyone, and there was much discussion on who could even call themselves true Americans.

This was a wonderfully engaging read, and I look forward to reading more books by this author!

My thanks to St.Martin's Press for permitting me to access an ARC of the book via NetGalley. Publication is slated for 10/4/22. All opinions expressed in this review are my own and are freely given.

Having read The Scarlet Letter in high school and taught it to many high school students, I was excited to see what author Laurie Albanese would do with her story. I especially liked the beginning. Isobel met Edward Gamble, an apothecary, when her father burned his hand. She was seventeen and he was almost thirty. Edward’s first wife died of a terrible cancer and he was grieving. Isobel’s father remarried after Isobel’s mother died. After Edward and Isobel married, she found out that Edward had financial problems and they were taken to the poorhouse. When released, she and her husband left Scotland on the New Harmony for America. Albanese’s writing of the time spent on the ship made me feel seasick, feel like I was in the room when Edward operated on the ship’s captain, and develop a strong dislike of Edward. He is addicted to opium and has no concern for Isobel. Shortly after arriving in Salem, Edward leaves Isobel to work as a ship doctor leaving Isobel penniless.

I feel the first several chapters were excellent. The author’s development of Isobel’s character made me feel like I was “a fly on the wall” as she figures how how to survive by herself. The story starts to drag in the middle and the relationship with “Nat” Hathorne moves very slowly. I enjoyed several of the scenes with the different characters Isobel interacts with as she establishes herself. My thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an ARC of this book. The opinions in this review are my own.

Hester tells the story of Hawthorne’s muse for the book, The Scarlett Letter. After journeying to the New World from Scotland, Isobel Gamble is left on her own in Salem when her new husband sets back off to sea. She’s a gifted seamstress who uses her talent to provide for herself in her husband’s absence. She meets Nathaniel Hathorne and falls in love.
Isobel is a smart, strong, resourceful woman. Hathorne is easy to dislike but also it’s easy to see what enchants Isobel.
I remember reading The Scarlett Letter for school and really had a love/hate relationship with the story. I was thrilled to read this reimagining of who the character from the book may have been. And her much more interesting and compelling story. This book is beautifully written. The author’s detailed descriptions made me feel like I was in the streets of Salem myself. I think this book should be required reading in school!
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Do you ever "slow read" a book that you are really loving? This was one of those books for me. I loved the language, the strong female main character, and the history. I loved the Scarlet Letter, and frankly that is probably what drew me to this title, but honestly the connections are so wispy (but fun to see!) even if you never read The Scarlet Letter---or even if you hated it---this entirely works on its own. I was sad when this ended. Thank you NetGalley and publishers, for providing a digital ARC for review. This is in stores early October! happy Reading :)

What an amazing story. This is the perfect fall read, set in Salem in the 1800s and topics of witches, curses and spell are at the front of everyone’s mind.
This story is about the woman who “inspired” Nathaniel Hawthorn’s novel, The Scarlet Letter.
Isabel came to America from Scotland because of her devious husband. Through many circumstances, she is left alone to fend for herself in Salem and falls in love with Nate.

This is a hopeful story and reminds you that magic can be found inside all of us within our day to day tasks. Isabel has a special talent with needle work and she has a unique gift of seeing colors within words. This was a beautifully creative story and I loved the artistic nature of the main character.

Don't worry if you haven't read the Scarlett Letter or if you, like me, read it so long ago that it's hazy in your mind- this magnificent novel stands on its own. Isobel, the latest in a long line of women who see colors and who, over time, have been pursued or condemned as witches, marries Edward because it seems like a good idea. It's not. He's an apothocary with a taste for opium, which leads them to ruin, and then to sail to Salem. Salem should be a haven, a fresh start where Isobel can use her skills with the needle to make a new life especially after Edward leaves on a new sailing. But there's darkness in Isobel's attraction to Nat Hawthorne, who becomes her drug. The most interesting parts of this involve the social mores of the time - the prejudice against the Irish and Scots, Nat's view of his family- and Isobel's discovery of the horrors of slavery via her neighbor. No spoilers from me but know that this has a few big twists, a bit of melodrama, and is just terrific. The characters - from Edward to the Captain, Nat, the women Isobel works with, even the undertaker- are vividly rendered. Isobel has a strong voice and I found myself fascinated with her world of colors. Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC. Don't miss this one!