This historical novel, inspired by Nathaniel Hawthorne’s character, Hester Prynne from The Scarlett letter focuses on Isobel Gamble, a seamstress who sets sail from Edinburgh for America with her husband, hoping for a new life. But soon after they arrive, her husband abandons her to fend for herself. She meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne and have a connection. Hawthorne is forced to reconcile his ancestors’ dark past and Gamble, life a woman alone in America, both aware that the country is not out to protect and serve everyone equally. Told with the backdrop of the Underground Railroad, feminism and New England history all make for a look at the dangers of women as creative harbingers in the 19ht century. 288 pages. Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the advanced review copy.

I received a digital ARC through St. Martin’s Press through NetGalley.

In high school, my favorite book assigned was The Scarlet Letter, by Nathaniel Hawthorne, so I was excited when i came across this book. This is not exactly a retelling; Isobel meets Nat, and her story inspires him to write what is known as The Scarlet Letter. I have not read anything else like this before, and I found it intriguing.

At times, the writing style makes this a dense read. I understand though that the author did this to reflect the time period and setting. Once I became used to it, the story came to life for me, and was easy to read.

I read The Scarlet Letter in 11th grade and I hate Nathaniel Hawthorne. I think his self-pitying nature came through too much for me. This is the book I would’ve liked to read instead. The story of a powerful woman who surpasses adversary. The story of the importance of women’s friendships. I highly recommend this book.
I absolutely love Isobel’s experience with the colors and how she uses it as a strength. I love how she uses her talent to make her way in a difficult situation. I love how she keeps trying when all hope seems lost. I love the passion she feels. I was completely swept up in this book.

3.5 A fun spin off/retelling of Hester from Nathanial Hawthorne's book, The Scarlet Letter.

It's the early 1800's and we meet Isobel and her husband traveling from Scotland to Salem. Soon after arrival, Isobel is left alone to fend for herself. She does beautiful hand work, tries make her way in a new world, and makes a few friends. She becomes close to the not yet famous, Nathanial Hawthorne. We see a beautiful story of historical fiction of the time. There were moments where I felt like it wasn't staying true to it's time frame with some progressive and current day opinions.

The story would then flash to the 1600's with the telling of life during the witch trials. Hawthorne's great great grandfather was one of the powerful judges that oversaw the Salem witch trials. This tidbit of information is interesting and fascinating to know and see how the author put Hawthorne into this book as a character.

I listened to this and I was never really clear on the switch. It would narrate the date adjustment to Isobel in the 1800's, but not reference back to the 1600's very clearly. The narrator Saskia Maarleveld did a beautiful job with the accents and flow of the story.

As the story progressed it made me wonder about Nathanial Hawthorne. As Hawthorne addressed morality, religion, freedom and societal expectations and behaviors, so too did Albanese in her writing.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the advance e-book.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martins Press / Macmillan Audio for early access to the audiobook and eARC of Hest by Laure Lico Albanese in exchange for an honest review.

CW: racism, slavery, addiction, emotional abuse, physical abuse, violence, abortion, pregnancy, death of a parent, suicidal thoughts, abandonment, see growing list on StoryGraph

Isobel Gamble marries Edward, a man she does not love, and travels with him to America, leaving their home in Scotland and everything they know. Upon arrival in America, Edward promptly leaves on a departing ship as a medic, leaving Isobel to fend for herself in this foreign place. A talented seamstress, she acquires a job and begins crafting beautiful embroidered gloves under the supervision of the town's seamstress in secret. Isobel also happens to meet Nathanial Hawthorne. The two fall into a dangerous and seductive affair, embroiled in passion and creating their art together. Set against the backdrop of the Salem Witch Trials of the 1600s, Isobel, her talents, and her relationship with Nat put her at great risk of being accused and tried as the women before her.

This story was so vibrant! I have no idea how much of this story was inspired by true events, and if true, how much of this story influenced Hawthorne's writing of The Scarlett Letter, but it was a fascinating alternate history. I loved the author's inclusion of synesthesia and how this condition may or may not have been dangerous in the time of witches. I really enjoyed the ache and beauty that this book evoked. I hope people are drawn to pick this book up, because it is definitely worth the read!

Hester, the character from The Scarlet Letter, comes to life with the telling of her authors muse and the craft of colors. Such an amazing read. I loved the characters and how real this story felt.
Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This had potential to be really good. The story of the Scarlet Letter told from the position of what if Nathaniel Hawthorne had a mistress and that’s where the story came from.
The premise had me hooked from the outset. The problem I had with it is that there is so much excessive wording that it drags and drags and I felt like it was never going to end. The issue with it dragging is weird too because there’s a lot that it tries to cover. And there were also the flashback chapters which were necessary to provide the historical aspects needed to set up the next chapter but it felt choppy and just didn’t seem to flow the way historical fiction books typically do.

Thanks to St. Martins Press and NetGalley for this audiobook arc in exchange for my review.

From a historical perspective, I found this to be fascinating. I appreciated the obvious research the author did to have written this. I enjoyed the fact that Nathaniel Hawthorne was a character and that the plot revealed his inspiration for writing the Scarlett Letter. The author seamlessly wove the chapters through various time periods in which everything was effortlessly connected.. Fans of Chris Bohjalian will enjoy this.

What if Hester Prynne (of The Scarlet Letter) was based on a real person?

Hester tells the story of Isobel, a red-haired Scottish woman who accompanies her husband to New England in the early 1800s. She has a gift for embroidery, and sees colors in other people’s words. In Salem, she strikes up a friendship with Nathaniel Hathorne. When her husband goes out to sea, Isobel embraces her independence and their friendship grows into something more.

But Nathaniel is not what she thought, and Isobel must use her strength and skills to build a life for herself and her child.

This is a story about perseverance and trusting in yourself. Isobel uses her mind, her heart, and her talent to make a life in a new world.

I really enjoyed this book. I’ve always had an interest in Salem and its witchcraft past, so I’ll read anything even remotely related, fiction or not. I also loved The Scarlet Letter, so Hester was right up my alley.

But you don’t have to be obsessed with Salem or early American history to enjoy this story. If you like tales about strong women using their talents to succeed, you’ll like this!

Thanks to @netgalley and @stmartinspress for the eARC. Hester comes out on October 4, 2022.

Check out Hester if you like epic stories about strong women and the wisdom they carry through generations.

Easily my favorite book of the year. Absolutely wonderful and heartbreaking! I can not rave enough about this book! Hester is an imaginative historical fiction that tells the story of the bewitching woman that inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne to write The Scarlett Letter. A passionate and heartbreaking tale of a brave young woman trying to survive in a new world. It’s a very well researched and atmospheric period piece that made me feel like I was dropped into Salem, Massachusetts in the 1800s. The writing, absolutely stunning. I was hanging on every beautifully written sentence. Hester was unputdownable and I urge anyone who is intrigued by Historical Fiction with witchy vibes to pick this book up! I cannot wait until release day to get my physical copy so I can annotate! @lauriealbanese , congratulations on Hester! It has been stitched on my heart! 🖤🖤🖤

I loved this story. It was a mix of real life history and fiction. A lot happens in this book and it is hard to walk away from it. The love story that leads to the Scarlet Letter being written is amazing well done, it plays out like real life. I was able to visualize this playing out like a movie. Thank you NetGalley for giving me the chance to read this ARC. Thank you Laurie Lico Albanese for an amazing read.

I briefly remember reading ‘The Scarlet Letter’ in school, and granted I didn’t truly grasp the book at the time I know I enjoyed this reading experience way more than when I was younger.
Hester is described as a reimagining of the woman who inspired the heroine in ‘The Scarlet Letter’ and that's exactly what this book is. With our main character Isobel we learn how woman who were ‘different’ were accused of witchcraft and sorcery, and simply persecuted for not being like the women around them.
The characters in this story had amazing development and not only that but some had “ Synesthesia” a sensory phenomenon I’ve never heard of. In this book there is “ grapheme-color synesthesia” where letters are associated with colors and “chromesthesia” where sound creates experiences of colours shape and texture. Learning about this sensory experience that only affects less than 10 percent of the worlds population was amazing and seeing it play throughout the story through Isobels eyes really helped enhance the story for me. I love Isobel and Nat and how their story unfolded throughout the book.
The only downside to this book was the pacing in the middle, it slowed down immensely and then suddenly at the end picked up again which is usually okay but felt really odd for me since the book was at a decent pace, then slowed down and then was just over.
I really enjoyed this book and I’m excited to see what the author writes next. And thank you to St. Martin’s Press and Netgalley for the e-arc in return for an honest review.

I don't have a lot to say about "Hester". It was a book, and I read it. It's easy to imagine plenty of readers enjoying this book. While I can't say I loved it, I didn't hate it or have trouble getting through it even if I wasn't particularly sucked in by it. Like many, many titles (for me) this was a perfectly fine, if unremarkable, book.

“Hester” by Laurie Lico Albanese is one of my favorite books I’ve read this year. It’s gripping, enthralling and full of color. Isobel marries a man named Edward and both soon move to America in search of a debt-free life and the pursuit of a better life. Edward goes out to sea in search of an elixir of life, leaving Isobel to fend for herself and make a name for herself as a seamstress and dressmaker. She is emboldened by her secrets, fearing them, and at the same time using her gifts to dazzle Salem. She soon meets a mystical man Nathaniel Hawthorne who himself is riddled with secrets, ghosts, storytelling and the running away from and capturing the ghosts of his ancestors. They are captivated by one another, only to realize that they play a role of the accused and accuser, the witch and the sorcerer. Their deep entanglement is rivaled by their ill-fates. Isobel uses her independence, freedom and love of her art to carve out her place in society.
I read “The Scarlet Letter” by the real Nathaniel Hawthorne in high school and it has been one of my favorite classics. “Hester” does a good job of being a prequel and it spins a tale as memorable as the “The Scarlet Letter.”

Special thanks to St.Martin’s Press for this advanced reader copy.

1 star

The plot was certainly intriguing and the author is definitely talented but the execution was lacking. This book had me bored out of my skull. It’s a dull version of The Scarlet Letter meets The Crucible. I don’t know if my expectations were too high or I just got caught in a slump that this book didn’t pull me out of, but this book didn’t do it for me.

I recall reading Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlett Letter in high school and absolutely hating the story. Maybe because he links female passion and shame?

I’m also tough on historical fiction, but I truly enjoyed Hester. Laurie Lico Albanese has written a creative dual timeline story starting from the premise — What if Hester Prynne from the Scarlett Letter told her story?

Isabel Gamble is a young seamstress who immigrates from Scotland to Salem, Mass, in the 1800s with her train wreck husband who is addicted to opium and leaves her alone to fend for herself in the new world. Isabel then meets Nathaniel Hawthorne who frankly reminds me of Arthur Dimmsdale from The Scarlett Letter. Isabel is a really strong, fantastic character.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

QOTD: What book did you hate that you had to read in high school?

Thank you @stmartinspress and @netgalley for a free early copy. All opinions are my own.

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A fascinating take on The Scarlett Letter story. Perfect for lovers of historical fiction and the classics. It reminded me of a Greek mythology retelling.

The story follows Isabelle, a scot who meets Nathan Hawthorne in America when she and her husband are forced to flea Edinburgh. The book tells a tale of the woman who inspired Hawthorne to write Hester Prynne.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me. This is because I am not a fan of everything I listed above. However, I know this book has an audience and will be loved by others. The language is beautiful and feels classic but modern at the same time. I have to applaud Laurie Lico Albanese for the feat she has completed here. It really does feel like you've stepped into The Scarlett Letter.

I received an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.
This book never came together for me. I'm not sure why reimagining Nathaniel Hawthorne's muse for The Scarlet Letter needed to so totally sacrifice Hawthorne's character. He is portrayed as both immoral and spineless. I guess that was the point, but it didn't work for me. The book was also too bogged down with repetitive references to her ability to "see" words and their colors.

Reading The Scarlet Letter in school was such an adventure for me. How women were treated, scorned for being different, and in their difference could be tried as a witch. I always wondered how Nathaniel Hawthorne came up with this tale. How in his writing, he in a sense, created the first female feminist.

This prequel tale is told in the 1800s (actually after when Hawthorne would have graduated college) with flashbacks to the 1600s witch trials in Salem. It’s a love story of sorts, interspersed with such rich history you can’t help being swept away with the story and vibrant characters created within. It’s a tale of a woman and all her secrets, and a man filled with all his ghosts, and how a chance meeting sparks the writing of The Scarlet Letter is imagined to have been born.

Witch trials, forbidden love, running from self and circumstance only finding you can’t outrun yourself, loss, friendships, death, secrets and the damage they inflict are only some of the adventures you will sail through on this imagined journey from Liverpool to Salem. Most of all, you will feel the indomitable strength of the women you meet.

This is definitely a 5 star book, and one you should not pass up when released in October of 2022!

Confession: I never read The Scarlet Letter in high school. To be clear, I was assigned the novel but pieced together the plot by skimming the text and using Cliff Notes. Women being shamed for sexual desires wasn’t an original plot line in my opinion and not reading it was my silent rebellion.

However, I am glad that I gave the novel Hester a chance. Laurie Lico Albanese weaves a mesmerizing tale of Isobel, a girl with a great gift for sewing and seeing “colors,” a phenomenon that allow her to identify people with different hues. Her mother, fearful of her gift, warns Isobel to keep it hidden less she be shunned, punished or accused of witchcraft.

Isobel dutifully hides her talents, settles in marriage, and tries to take the safe, conventional route in society-until a chance meeting with tortured novelist Nathaniel Hawthorne awakens Isobel’s desires. Their relationship will forever alter the course of her life and change her destiny.

Lico Albanese has masterfully crafted a backstory for the character that inspired the doomed Hester Prynne that refashions her into a feminist heroine. It’s a riveting historical fiction page turner that I highly recommend.