This enchanting story tells the imagined history of Nathaniel Hawthorne and his inspiration for his most famous work The Scarlet Letter. Isobel is Scottish woman immigrating to Salem in a time where being a woman in a society that has a history of persecuting 'witches' is not easy. Isobel is promptly abandoned by her husband, and has an illicit and dangerous affair with a local writer. She must make her way on her own somehow, while navigating life as a new immigrant, and being faced with some of the realities of living in a country where slavery is legal, and you can be run out of town for adultery.
This book was very well written, the author draws you into her world expertly. I loved how he told this story from Isobel's point of view and not Hawthorns. I'm glad that so the author included so much about slavery and race but feel like they didn't go far enough with it.

I wish to thank NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book. I have voluntarily read and reviewed it. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is a wonderfully imaginative telling of the possible inspiration for Nathanial Hawthorn’s “The Scarlet Letter.” If you read it years ago you will really love this as a fictional background to the famous classic. The main character is Isobel Gamble who arrives in Salem from Scotland with her husband. He leaves her alone and without funds and goes to sea to make a fortune. The only way she can provide for herself is as a seamstress who does exceptional embroidery. The book is told in two timelines. One is during the Salem witch trials and one in the mid 19th century.
Isobel has a chance meeting with Nathaniel Hathorne and their relationship begins. He is struggling to make a name for himself. There are wonderful details in the book and all of the characters hold your attention. The book is about struggles, friendships, escape from slavery, witchcraft and so much more beautifully woven together to make a believable tapestry. Doing the research for this one must have been a lot of fun. I loved it and think you will as well.

I’d never read “The Scarlet Letter,” but going into “Hester” I knew the premise, which is only important in that Ms. Albanese creates a believable background upon which Hawthorne based his novel. This engaging story paints a vivid picture of society that subtly mashes together a couple of time periods in the USA, including witchcraft, slavery, marital relationships, and social norms. The characters, from the protagonist Hester all the way to people who appear in a single scene, are brought to life with specific details that leave room for the reader to flesh each our in their own imagination. A stunning work, which I highly recommend.

This imagined backstory to the Scarlet Letter, tells the story of Hester, a young seamstress from Scotland who emigrates to 19th century Salem, Massachusett. Arriving in a New Engand still haunted by its past with witch trials and its ties to slavery, Isobel grapples with her own troubled history. Soon after landing, she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne who’s battling his own demons. Drawn to each other from the beginning by their shared status as outsiders and their inability to escape their repercussions of their ancestors’ actions, Isobel and Nathaniel start an illicit relationship that will turn many lives upside down, and eventually inspire Nathaniel to write his famous novel.
Full of love, female friendship, questions of freedom, morality, complicity, and ultimately what it means to be American, this action-packed novel is a spell-binding read that will appeal to fans of retellings of classics, and historical fiction featuring early feminism and literary figures.

Hester is the glorious literary-figure-historical-fiction novel I never knew I needed, and I bet it’ll be that for you, too.
Craft
Albanese’s writing is nothing short of music, and the choice to give Isobel synesthesia only adds to the ephemeral quality of the prose. Colors and imagery dazzle us throughout the novel, and we’re enchanted from the beginning as readers. This novel was obviously well-researched, and it gave me the certain feeling I crave in historical books — the optimism of the past hedged with the knowledge of what’s to come.
Theme
This is what sold me on the story. Redefining who you are despite your heritage, despite your circumstances, despite mistakes, despite societal pressures — and then the thousands of little pinpricks into our comfortable minds when it came to how Nat and other characters acted. I really do believe a good book should lead to not only introspection, but a better view of the world around you. And this book absolutely achieved those goals for me.
My favorite theme, though, was the Isobel/Margaret chain. I loved how Albanese gave Isobel power as a mother, even as a single mother with a broken heart. Even as a mother who tried to kill her child and almost took her own life. Isobel is woven into the line of fierce women who stand up for a better future BY her motherhood, and it’s through her love for Pearl that she’s able to find freedom from the hateful world around her.
Allusions
I can’t. I can’t even start with these. This is what had me screaming throughout the whole book. It’s so beautiful. Everything about Isobel’s points back to Hester in the same way that we’ve seen retellings in Wide Sargasso Sea or other works. I’m confident this book will find its way into hundreds of school reading lists. I know it’ll be at the tip of my tongue the moment someone asks for a historical fiction recommendation.

This book about the imagined backstory of "The Scarlett Letter" is beautifully written. The story starts in Scotland and then moves to Salem in Massachusetts in the late 1800s. I could not warm to the character of Nathaniel Hathorne, as he is depicted as a selfish man. Isobel's life was difficult but she overcame these hardships. I wish the story didn't meander into different topics; the witch burnings in Scotland, the witch hangings in Salem, slavery. Overall, the detailed descriptions were worth reading this lovely book. Thank you St. Martin's Press and NetGalley for an ARC of Hester in exchange for my honest review.

This was beautifully written historical novel. Coming from someone who was forced to read, The Scarlet Letter, in high school and write many, many reports on it, this was interesting to see the authors reimagining of Hester.

This is a carefully crafted and well-researched (but fictional!) revision of New England history centering on Nathaniel Hawthorne's inspiration for his character Hester Prynne. An exploration of synesthesia—a condition common in artists and other creative types in which data from one sense organ cross-pollinates data from another—enriches the look Albanese takes at historical "witchcraft" and the legacy of witch trials in Salem, Massachusetts. Moderately paced and meticulously plotted, this is as much a book about artists and artistic creation as it is about local history. Giving flesh to two figures—one historical and the other literary—with nuance, surprise, and a generous dash of moral ambiguity, this could be a fantastic book club pick.

Interesting “origin story” for Hester Prinn and The Scarlet Letter. I enjoyed how the author wove fact with fiction to create an overall enjoyable tale. I am not a fan of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s work, but I didn’t have to be to enjoy this book.

Hester is a historical novel that tells a fictionalized version of the story of the woman who inspired Nathanial Hawthorne in is writing of The Scarlet Letter. An engaging story, to be sure, but the convoluted lines between truth and fiction (which, I will admit, put me off historical fiction at times) are especially pronounced here.

Hester is a reimagining of the person who inspired Hester Prynne from The Scarlet Letter. Isobel is married to Edward who has a huge pile of debt. This causes them to flee to the new world to try and start over. But days after they arrive in Salem Edward leaves Isobel to become a medic. As the weeks pass it is unlikely that Edward will return. Isobel meets a young Nathaniel Hawthrone and the two start to become closer and closer. And soon their connection will start to unravel life for both of them.

I am pretty sure I am not the only one that was forced to read The Scarlet Letter in high school. I am going to be honest, I have not read that book since high school ( and that was a very long time ago). But with all that being said, I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a really interesting prequel to the Scarlet Letter. It was really cool seeing the character of Nathaniel Hawthrone used things that happened in his real life, ( well fictional real life in this book) to influence the writing of the Scarlet Letter. I thought that this was very good historical fiction novel, I will say I thought it did drag on in some places. But other than that I really liked it. Thank you Netgalley, Laurie Lico Albanese, and St. Martins Press for the ARC of this book.

Two hundred years ago, women were thought of as the property of men and were relegated to certain roles in life. Isobel Gamble was unique, unusual, and was gifted with seeing colors in letters and words whereas others who knew would deem her as filled by the Devil or bewitched to act as so. Isobel’s mother advised her to hide it and keep her secret. Isobel’s namesake was at one time revered for this gift too but then when events turned in the town and crops died, the townspeople turned against her and accused her of being a witch. Isobel’s mom wanted to spare her daughter but knew that one day, Isobel would need to be strong when challenged. Isobel was also a gifted seamstress, an artistic embroiderer, and when her apothecary husband Edward put them in the poor house due to his addiction to drugs, she knew then that she would need to strike out, be strong, and carve her future. They set sail to America and landed in Salem where Isobel meets Nathaniel Hawthorne, a poet and writer. Alone and destitute after her husband sets sail in search of his magic potion, Isobel must fend for herself. She and Hawthorne are drawn to each other, spellbound and enter into a forbidden relationship. Isobel and Nathaniel must prove their worth to live in Salem. Isobel becomes the muse, or Hester, for Nathaniel in his writing of The Scarlet Letter.
This historical fiction story takes us to Salem, known for its witch trials, in the mide-19th century and yet also incorporates the underground railroad and the slave ships. Many things are brought about here: independence both for women and for Africans, racial tensions and prejudice towards those of different social classes and of immigrants. A bit slow in the beginning, the story picks up as it goes along. I felt the main story of Isobel Gamble was far more interesting that the backstory flashbacks to her ancestor Isobel Gowdrie, although it was important to give context to Isobel’s story. I found it interesting the addition of magical realism with the concept of seeing letters and words in colors. Well written and great character development, this was a story that reads well from the beginning to the end.

Many thanks to #netgalley #hester #st.martinspress for the opportunity to read and review this book.

Most of us have read The Scarlett Letter in school. This story shares the imagined story of Isobel who becomes Hester in the famed book.

Isobel can see colors in the sound of words and songs. Her family is terrified she’ll be deemed a witch for this gift as generations before her.

Following her new husband’s folly, she finds herself in Salem more than 100 years after the witch trials. Even though the hysteria is gone, the fear of anything or anyone different is still there.

There she meets the cowardly Nat, finds a way to support herself with her needle and thread after Edward leaves her penniless, and learns how to navigate the complicated society of Salem.

This is a wonderful story inspired by Hester Prynne. The author shows the lives of women in the early 19th century, when being "unusual" can lead to an accusation of witchcraft. Beautiful prose, much history and amazing characters.

This novel is an intriguing blend of historical fact and historical fiction. The author clearly poured her heart and her imagination into this story of feminine strength, perseverance and dedication. At times the pacing was slowed by too much repetition of detail for my taste, but overall this a book that deserves to be read and appreciated for its weaving of two time periods into a seamless and engaging story.

Isobel Gamble, an unusually talented seamstress, has inherited a gift passed down through her matriarchal lineage; she has a condition (which the author describes in a preface) known as synesthesia. It gave her the ability to see colors in unusual and vivid ways, enriching her experience of people and nature. Unfortunately, this gift is was seen by the unenlightened as a curse…one that often was labeled as the work of the devil and those possessing it were cast as witches and treated accordingly. There was ample evidence of this in Isobel’s family history. Consequently, she was advised by her mother to keep her abilities a secret and to never reveal them to anyone.

When her husband’s drug habit lands them in debtor’s prison, the couple leaves Scotland and travels to Salem, MA for a fresh start in the New World. Here Isobel is abandoned by her husband and left penniless to survive in a society that is not only unwelcoming to newcomers, but also has a history of persecuting so-called witches as well.

Isobel crosses paths with Nathaniel Hawthorne, the brooding writer, who carries the shame of his family’s role in the Salem witch trials. The two are drawn to each other and eventually become lovers. This tragic relationship becomes the inspiration for Hawthorne’s novel, The Scarlet Letter.

The story alternates between two historical perspectives approximately 150 years apart – one in mid-17th century Scotland and the second in the early19th century Massachusetts. The transitions are smooth and provide context for much of Isobel’s struggles and inspiration. The character development is solid and I enjoyed Isobel as a protagonist revealing the power, creativity and resourcefulness of a woman left to her own devices to survive. Hawthorne is a seriously flawed man and was a challenge to embrace. The portrayal of Salem society and the exploration of the fledging Underground Railroad activity added depth and dimension to the story. This book is definitely a worthwhile read.

My thanks to the author, the publisher, and NetGalley for the privilege of reviewing this book. The opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

This review is being posted immediately to my GoodReads account and will be posted on Amazon upon publication.

A beautifully written historical fiction novel. Not something that I would normally pick, but I’m so glad I did. It relies a lot of the prose, and she delivered so well. It is such an intricately told story about a short time in a woman’s life, and I think it will do well when it comes out in October! Thank you for the digital arc!

I absolutely loved reading this! Deepens the tale of The Scarlet Letter with great passion and depth. The characters are so finely fleshed out and the story is haunting and beautiful. Highly recommend for fans of historical fiction! The insights into the Salem witch trials are especially vivid and fascinating. Well done indeed!

I wanted to love this but it fell a little flat for me. I found myself putting down and reaching for something else again and again.

This was my first book by Laurie Lico Albanese and I am adding her to my favorite author list and seeking out her other works. I love historical fiction and to read this take on "Hester" from Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel "The Scarlet Letter" was a real treat. Parallel stories from 17th century Scotland and 19th century Salem kept me turning pages late into the night. There is much to love about this book. The pacing and character development was superb and the prose was lush and intriguing. Particularly fascinating was the theme of "synesthesia" in which Hester sees colors in written letters and spoken words. I found echoes of Alice Hoffman (one of my all-time favorites) so loved this story all the more.

Pros: I don’t often read historical fiction, but this book caught my attention because it is a fictional take on the inspiration of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. I thought it was fascinating how the author weaved synesthesia into the storyline and how well the idea of a scarlet letter is explained by synesthesia.

I think this book and The Scarlet Letter would be a great book flight to read as a book club or in a high school or college English class. I never thought I would want to reread The Scarlet Letter after I read it in high school, but this book might have inspired a reread.

Cons: I’m not sure the flashback scenes were necessary, but I don’t think they took away from the story. I found myself reading those sections quickly so I could return to Isobel’s story.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the opportunity to read this book.