A re-writing of The Scarlet Letter with the adulteress appearing as a seamstress with a talent for seeing words and speech in colors. And with Nathaniel Hawthorne himself as the cowardly father of her child. The author chose this deliberately believing that since all his other books were based on events and people in his life, so was this one. Haunting and romantic, it reveals the power of women to cope with the disappointments and problems in life. Based in Salem, MA, it dabbles with the histories of the punishment of women as witches.

Thank you @netgalley and @stmartinspress for this advance reader’s copy.
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I enjoyed studying The Scarlet Letter in high school, and I enjoyed Albanese’s fictional book based on the life of painter Gustav Klimt, so I was excited to dive into this story about the muse behind Nathaniel Hawthorne’s famous novel. Unfortunately, it fell a little flat for me after the 20% mark. What started so strong fizzled out as characters and relationships didn’t develop much throughout the story. The historical look at the Salem witch trials was the more interesting timeline for me, but it got very little page time. This book was very atmospheric, and it might be a good choice for a reader looking for something seasonal this fall, but not spooky.

4.5 stars. I have a love/hate relationship with The Scarlett Letter. This novel, an imagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, is magnificent. The storyline is almost magical, but feels grounded in history. Isobel is a fantastic character, who learns to trust herself and her own strength, while learning about a new world. If only my 11th grade AP English teacher, Ms. Carey, were still alive - I would encourage her to read this book so that we could discuss it!

"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 Edinburgh 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."

Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

Totally engrossing from the first page. I don't know if I'd have picked this up without a recommendation from a trusted friend; The Scarlet Letter is not one of my favorite books. But I'm so glad I did. Isobel Gowdie Gamble is such a strong character, the kind who feels alive, that I wanted to know how her story would turn out. This reminded me of Tracy Chevalier's historical fiction, accurate and detailed but accessible.

Thanks to Netgalley for the advance copy.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

I did not enjoy The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne back in the olden days when I had to read it in high school. This story takes Nathaniel Hawthorne (Nat) and places him in the world of Isobel Gamble, a seamstress, who has landed in Salem with her husband, in the early 1800s. Isobel can see colors when she hears sounds, although there are a few people whose voices show no color at all. Her late mother warned her to hide her talents to avoid being labeled a witch. Now she's come from Scotland to a place that has it's own horrible history with persecuting women that had been accused of being witches.

I prefer not to get wrapped up in stories that are all dreary misery and abuse for the men and women in them. And I'm not fond of stories that demonize all men. Once I got into this story, I could see that this one was more than a story about women being beaten down by all men. This story has some really good people in it, both men and women, and that's what allowed me to get into it and enjoy all that Isobel and others accomplish. The good isn't completely evident at first because Isobel has to be so cautious about trusting anyone. She's been pulled in by bad people before so she's guarded, just as others who might try to do the right thing have to be guarded since there are others who would slay them for their efforts.

There is not much known about what led Hawthorne to write The Scarlet Letter so that makes this story more interesting. The author gets to give Hawthorne a fictional setting where his surroundings and even his actions could have led to his writing such a work. This story is improves on the original for me and I wish this is what I could have read in high school.

Thank you to St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for this ARC.

We read The Scarlet Letter in 9th grade. I have to admit, I never read the books we were assigned, at least not all of it. They were boring, OLD, and didn't really interest me much. But I did start reading The Scarlet Letter once it got interesting, and I actually did enjoy it.

This is a "prequel" to The Scarlet Letter. A story of Isobel Gamble who sailed from Scotland with her husband, Edward, to Salem, Massachusetts. Edward was not the nicest of people - he drinks, he does poppies, and he makes deals with people for money and then runs, But Isobel has a gift that she cannot tell people, she can see color. But just like Scotland, in Salem she cannot tell anyone. Once she arrives in Salem, Edward leaves for the Bahamas leaving Isobel in a new land, a new city, all by herself. Then she meets Nathaniel Hawthorn.

After meeting Nathaniel, Isobel realizes what love is and it is not with Edward. But she is married. After awhile Isobel finds she is about to have a baby, married, and living in Salem does not bode well with the townspeople, their history, and her way to makes end meet. Once more, Nathaniel has left. How will she survive.

Because I didn't read all of The Scarlet Letter, I was a little hesitant to read this. But since it was a "prequel" to he muse of how The Scarlet Letter came about, I was a little intrigued. In all, I could not put it down. I enjoyed it very much and will recommend it to friends.

Thank you to Netgalley, Laurie Lico Albanese, and St. Martin's Press for this ARC. All opinion are mine and I have not been compensated for them.

I was drawn into this book because of the cover and I stayed because the writing was excellent! I really enjoyed this book and loved how it was written. The plot kept me engrossed the entire time, and I struggled to put it down!

What a gorgeous delicious beautifully written book! Nearly all of us have read The Scarlet Letter and wondered about Hester Prynne and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hester gives us a love story that inspired Hathorne to pin The Scarlet Letter while also weaving in immigrants and freed slaves. I loved that Isobel and her maternal ancestors shared the gift and curse of Synesthesia. This book made me want to make something with my hands. Too bad I have no talent whatsoever, but I can share these beautiful quotes from the book that I collected.

“Isobel Gowdie, Queen of Witches— she’s your namesake.” Her words were still golden yellow, which I came to know as the color of truth.

“Berries and plants in every color is the best way to grow a garden that makes you strong against sickness and bad spirits.”

How much time passes as we look at one another I cannot say— perhaps it’s the snap of two fingers. Perhaps it’s a full stanza of poetry.

“Bad men can do good things, and good men can do bad things.

“‘ If you kill me, God will give you blood to drink.’”

“If you don’t believe in witches, why would you believe in curses?”

“A dark soul can cast a long shadow over the living and the dead...”

“If hate can bring a curse into being, then what can love do?”

"...So long as you remember you’re as strong as you believe you are.”

"...what’s private can also be beautiful.”

...I’m a witch and he’s a sorcerer. Or perhaps he’s the sorcerer and I’m the cauldron.

...there are few words between what’s forbidden and what’s shameful...

“Law doesn’t care why a woman does what she do, just like the law says a slave can be free here and a slave can be caught here."

I was wrong many times. But I have also done many things right.

Red is passion and knowledge, but it’s also a warning of pain. Blue is hope. Yellow is truth, except when it’s part of fire. Orange is joy. Green is goodness and home.

...you must love what is close and true; you must look to the present and future and not to the past.

Thanks to Netgalley for the ARC: Hester is beautifully written historical fiction. While I've always found "The Scarlet Letter" a slog, "Hester" is lyrical, lovely and captivating. Albanese invented a character, Isobel, a young Scottish immigrant, talented seamstress, seer of voices in color, descendent of accused an witch who is the fictional basis for Hester Prynne. The book is well written and the characters fully formed. The social mores of Salem, the concerns of former or escaped slaves and the role of women in that era are fully explored. I don't think I'll be attempting Hawthorne's book again, but this book is a pleasure.

A brilliant retelling of the Scarlet Letter told from a very different perspective. Isobel leaves Scotland with her husband who is a bit of a cad. Upon arriving in Salem there are numerous challenges that befall Isobel and it is here that she meets Nat. This meeting changes her life. Albanese writes a book full of vivid imagery where her prose leaps off the page. Thrilled to read this early ARC thanks to NetGalley.

Isobel Gamble is a young and amazingly talented seamstress. She and her husband Edward are forced to leave Scotland for a fresh start after his opium addiction has destroyed their lives. Upon arriving in Salem, Edward soon departs as a medic on a ship, leaving Isobel without money or friends.

While Edward is gone, Isobel falls in love with Nathaniel Hawthorne. And then, as the title suggests, Isobel must deal with Salem’s strict religious expectations, the town’s historical persecution of women, rigid social stratification, and all of the other means by which power can be retained by those who already enjoy it.

This novel is exceptionally well written and researched, and the author provides the reader with some very fine historical fiction. (And, no, you do not need to have read The Scarlet Letter to enjoy this book.)

In the author notes at the end of the book, the author tells us that all of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s books had some basis is his life except for the Scarlet Letter. Now imagine that in his time he had an illicit affair with a young married woman whose husband was away at sea. Could this young woman be the inspiration for Hester Prynne and could Nathaniel himself be the inspiration for Roger Dimmsdale? This is the premise of Laurie Lico Albanese’s new book. Throw in synesthia as a reason to accuse a woman of witchcraft, runaway slaves and you have the ingredients for great historical fiction. The action was a bit slow for most of the book, but the last part of the book had me reading as quickly as I could to find out how it would all end.

I have to admit this one had a slow start. The entire first half was on the slow side, but by the time I got to the second half I was completely captivated, so it was worth it.

I somehow made it through all my years of schooling without reading The Scarlet Letter, and now I kind of wish I had. This was such a clever way to write a “retelling” because instead of re-writing the story, she wrote this book based on her idea of the author’s inspiration for the original story. Brilliant!

This book follows Isobel Gowdie, a granddaughter of an accused witch, a seamstress, and a Scottish woman looking for a fresh start in the “new world” (Salem, MA). She runs into and falls for Nathaniel Hathorne (The Scarlet Letter author) and the story for how this book came to be unfolds.

All of the details came together wonderfully in the end. Oh, and all of the writing revolving around Isobel “seeing colors” (what is now known as a condition called Synesthesia) was really beautiful and interesting.

I love a good “witchy,” 1800s era historical fiction, and if you do too - you’ll surely enjoy this one!

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese
#fiftyfifthbookof2022 #arc

I love that this book begins with an explanation of synesthesia. Its link to a historical perception of witchcraft is the perfect background for this reimagining of the woman who is the inspiration behind The Scarlet Letter. I haven’t read that book since high school and hated it at the time, and didn’t retain much of the story, but I don’t think that matters. This story stands alone as its own and is enchanting.

That said, I can’t speak to how accurate the story is to the historical woman, but I don’t care. The character of Nat is alluring until he’s really not, and again, I don’t know enough about the real life Hawthorne, but boy, is Isobel better off.

The descriptions of the colors and embroidery are worth the price of admission and they are gorgeous. I would love to see some of the real life work the author researched to create this part of the story. The threats of witchcraft accusations due to synesthesia are terrifying but the images they inspire are amazing. And that cover!

The author managed to capture the feelings of an immigrant to Massachusetts, the state’s link to slavery, and the question of what makes an American, all while describing the most gorgeous embroidery from a woman learning how to depend on herself. Highly recommend.

Thank you to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the advance copy. (Pub date 10/4/22.)

#hester #synesthesia #inlovewiththecover

"A vivid reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and a journey into the enduring legacy of New England's witchcraft trials.

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."

I love women reclaiming the narrative of stories that are ingrained in us due to high school literature classes.

Isobel is a woman with kinesthesia, who sees colors associated with people and words. She’s been taught to keep this ability secret because the original Isobel was tried as a witch a hundred years prior. Luckily, she escaped and had descendants who also shared this gift. The Isobel of the book emigrates from Scotland to Massachusetts in the mid 1810’s, far removed from the days of the Salem Witch Trials, but not in sentiment.

This book is so interesting, yet it’s hard to describe. It’s sort of historical fiction, sort of fantasy, too. Isobel meets the author Nathanial Hawthorne, best known today as the author of The Scarlet Letter. Isobel is seen as the inspiration of Hester Prynne, right down to her skill as a seamstress. I’ve personally never read Hawthorne so I can’t say how close the author gets to his subject, but it’s an engaging tale even without having read the classic.

I do have to say that the mood I felt while reading Hester reminded me very much of Magic Lessons (Practical Magic #0.1) by Alice Hoffman because of the setting and accusations of witchcraft and Puritan beliefs. But that’s the only similarity. Isobel isn’t a witch, she’s an embroiderer, but she’s also a foreigner, which naturally begs suspicion from the locals. She’s befriended by a free black woman with two young kids, and I thought the author did a good job explaining how Massachusetts was a free state, yet slave hunters were allowed there to track down people and return them to the south. Isobel reads and sees things and has many questions, and an early look at the Underground Railroad is shown to both her and the reader.

Because it’s so rare now, I had a hard time imagining the intricate embroidery described, but I sure had a great time trying! My mother, aunt and grandmother were skilled with the needle, a talent I did not inherit.

I have been very lucky lately to read some awesome ARCs, and this is another one. Very engaging, entertaining, I just didn’t want to put it down. Highly recommended!

I loved this book. I read The Scarlet Letter in high school and thought this new take was inventive and fascinating. I love how the author went back and forth between the centuries to the Salem witch trials. The language was enveloping in its description, and I loved learning about synesthesia and the descriptions of how words and letters have color. The author is a master storyteller! I went back and forth between the ebook and audiobook and loved listening to the voice of the narrator. So soothing and added an additional dynamic to the story. Highly recommend the audio! Posting review soon on Instagram @tiffanyvt4

I love a good retelling, and Hester is fascinating and beautifully done.

It is the story of Isobel, a seamstress and Scottish immigrant to Salem, Massachusetts, in the early 1800s. An extraordinarily gifted artisan, Isobel creates striking embroidery, partly due to a sensory phenomenon we now understand as synesthesia. Synesthesia is the perceptual phenomenon where you experience one of your senses through another. For instance, Isobel experiences letters and words as colors. But she must keep this a secret to avoid being accused of witchcraft. When Isobel meets a young and rather complicated Nathaniel Hawthorne in Salem, the two are drawn toward each other. Then, her opium-addicted apothecary husband sails off on ship as a medic, leaving her to fend for herself in the New World. As She and Nathaniel draw closer, Isobel becomes the muse for his most famous character, Hester Prynne, in the Scarlet Letter.

I don't remember much beyond the broad details of The Scarlet Letter from when I read it in high school, but that didn't impact my enjoyment of this story. I don't think you even need to have read the source material to enjoy this. It is a well-written and utterly compelling work of historical fiction. Isobel is a vividly written character, and I rooted for her throughout her trials. The book handles some difficult themes, such as the witch trials and their ongoing aftermath, the beginnings of the Underground Railroad, class struggles, and the societal constraints placed on women. But there are also themes of forbidden love, hope, bravery, and the resilience and strength of women.
Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to review this ARC. I thoroughly enjoyed it!

This is a fantastic historical fiction novel. It's a beautifully written and captivating story. I felt totally transported to Salem in 1829. The author's imagining of the fictional woman who inspired The Scarlet Letter was a creative way to retell the original story. Will definitely recommend this to those who enjoy historical fiction.

I loved Hester. It was simply riveting and unputdownable. Like most of my generation, The Scarlett Letter was required reading for HS English. An American Tragedy and The Scarlett Letter taught me the terrible price women pay for risking sex outside of marriage. Albanese has reimagined Hester Prynne in the form of Isobel Gamble, a young, married Scottish immigrant who arrives in Salem and meets Nathaniel Hawthorne, a struggling writer. I am not always taken with retelling of classics, but Hester gripped me from the get- go and I look forward to reading more from Albanese. . Many thanks to St.Martin’s Press for a galley in exchange for my honest opinion. Well done and Highly Recommended!