I really liked this book. I love retellings, remember reading The Scarlet Letter in high school and have always had a fascination with Salem, MA and The House Of the Seven Gables.

I enjoyed the time change, from the 1600s Scotland where Isobel's grandmother was accused of witchcraft, to 1800s Scotland where Isobel tried to make a life for herself in North America.

Along the way her husband takes her from Scotland to America and leaves her there, essentially. She meets Nat Hathorne, falls in love with him, he gets her pregnant and refuses to associate with her after that.

Frankly due to the Salem connection I was really worried that someone was going to be accused of witchcraft and hanged even though that was hundreds of years before, Albanese did not make Salem, MA a fun place to be at that time.

I enjoyed, for lack of a better term, the connection between slavery and the poor from specific areas, and that helping slaves get from the South to Canada was a big portion of the story ultimately.

All along I hope there would be a good ending (between Isobel and Nat) but of course there wouldn't be. I was pleased with the ending and felt it was much more uplifting and happier that I would have expected during the earlier parts of the book. Very compelling suggestion as to the personal connection between Hawthorne the writer and the Scarlet Letter which history had not made previously. Great book.

A fantastic imagining of the woman behind Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter." The novel is essentially Hawthrone fan fiction, but an engrossing read all the same. Full review to come closer to publication date.
Thank you to the author, NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for sharing this advance copy with me in exchange for my honest review.
3.75/5

Hester is a beautifully written story creating the woman behind the Scarlet Letter’s Hester Prynne and imagining her story. Laurie Lico Albanese begins in Scotland intertwining witch stories which were part of their history with the difficult life of Isobel Gamble. Isobel sees colors in everything and everyone. She keeps this secret that has been passed down through her family for fear of being named a witch. She is a seamstress who marries a scoundrel named Edward and they leave Scotland traveling to the United States on a commercial ship where Capt Darling befriends her. Salem Massachusetts is not kind to her. Her husband has left on another sea voyage and she is forced to try and make a living on her own. Nathaniel Hawthorne shows an interest in her while free black people and other lowly town people befriend her and yet keep her at a distance . Witches, slavery, lust and desire and strong women are themes that run through this wonderfully written story. Albanese creates such a moving picture of Isabel’s story through colors and fabrics and hidden words in embroidery. Thank you #NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy.

Maybe this would be a valuable contrast to "The Scarlet Letter," but it tended to show Hesper as a stereotypical "witch." I' think Hawthorne intended something more than that.

I loved this book! Ever wonder what “The Scarlett Letter” would have been like if written by Hester Pryne? Hester gives an idea of just what this story might have been. Isobel Gamble is a young woman in Scotland, married to Edward a failed apothecary. They must leave the country due to Edwards disastrous addition to opium which leaves them with very little but the clothes on their backs. They start a new life in Salem in the 19th century. Edward embarks on a new career as a medic on a ship and leaves Isobel alone after just a few days in the New World. Isobel finds that he is stolen all the money she has, and she must now fend for herself in a new country where the people are less than hospitable to strangers. The only skill she has is her ability to create needlework like no one has ever seen.

Her chance meeting with Nathanial Hawthorne begins the relationship that spins the story in a direction that was not seen in "The Scarlett Letter". Hawthorne is shown in a completely different light and we see how the relationship was forged and broken.

This was an excellent read!

While browsing NetGalley, when I saw the book "Hester" was a reimaging of the inspiration for "The Scarlet Letter", I just knew I had to read it! So, many thanks to Net Galley and St. Martin’s Press for making my dream come true!

The story is told in alternating time periods and perspectives. The central part of the story takes place in the mid-19th century in Salem, Massachusetts when Isobel Gamble arrives from Scotland with her husband Edward and where they try to build a new life for themselves. Shortly after that, Edward leaves on a journey to find new ingredients for medicine, so Isobel now has to navigate this strange new world by herself. She is a skilled seamstress and thus is able to find new opportunities, and it helps her to get to know the people of her community better. Albanese has created a lush array of individual characters in this community and effortlessly highlights the difference in social and racial tensions of the time (even racism against her as a Scottish immigrant) and of course the blatant sexism of the time. Our other timeline reaches back to Salmen in the 1600s, to Isobel's grandmother among others. Though brief in comparison, these stories help flesh out the main story and provides us with valuable details.

I was a big fan of the hints of magical realism included throughout the book. It’s not a full-blown magical realism novel in the vein of Alice Hoffman, but it was just a sprinkle to move the story forward and add a bit of mysticism to the events taking place.

Albanese's writing is masterful and her prose just flows through the pages. I am a sucker for a character-driven story and this one is exactly that. She has created such rich and complex characters that I was easily drawn in. The dual timelines also flowed seamlessly from one to the next. I was never confused or frustrated. I highly recommended this as a great Autumnal read. One does not have to have read “The Scarlet Letter” to enjoy this, but a quick brush-up on it may help add to one’s appreciation of the story.

"Hester" is to be published in October 2022 and I couldn’t think of a better time to release a book such as this! 5/5

Thank you St. Martin's Press for an E-ARC of this novel!

I loved The Scarlet Letter and this telling through Hester’s eyes did not disappoint. It made me want to go back and read the original. So many details I forgot that were explained in this novel. A must read.

I never read the book The Scarlet Letter but reading this book still captivated me!!!! The mix of characters and their relationships… had me enthralled! Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!!!

The Scarlet Letter has been one of my favorite books for a long time, so I was excited to hear about this new origin story.

In this novel adaptation, Isobel Gowdie is a woman who experiences color associations with words and speech. Spectral perception, a color's ability to evoke emotion, was a strange concept to most as well as many other misunderstood phenomena . . . or anything out of the ordinary in this era, was easily considered witchcraft-related and had to be suppressed. Keeping talents, thoughts, and desires deeply hidden seemed to be a daily struggle for all the females of Salem.

In all honesty, some of the beginning narrative was a bit too slow to fully grab my attention, but I am so glad I stuck it out because the second half fully met my expectations.

Above all, this author stayed true to the historical period and conjured an innovative backstory to a dearly beloved classic.

I'd like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of Hester for my unbiased evaluation. 3.5 stars

I received this book as an ARC and this is my review. This amazing story is an historical background of the events surrounding Nathaniel Hawthorne and Hester Prynne and the writing of “The Scarlet Letter”. The book is filled with life in Salem, Massachusetts and the fiery, hate-filled moments surrounding the witchcraft trials. I loved this book and totally recommend it to readers who enjoy behind-the-scenes views of life at a time of turmoil.

A masterpiece is the collection of a brilliant mind, a stalwart heart, and the deepest desire to bring dreams into being.

Isobel Gowdie had the gift of colors. Bright, joyful hues that beamed from cloth to print. We know of it today as Synesthesia which is a sensory phenomenon with multiple responses through vision and sound.

Imagine, if you will, the hushed warnings from mother to child to suppress any leanings toward delving into colors.......any type let alone vivid spurts of tone even in Nature. Isobel's mother in Scotland told her red-haired daughter to choose threads of black and brown in her stitchings so as not to be accused of witchcraft or being in the Devil's snare. And so Isobel suppressed her desire to light the fabrics with spark and eye-catching designs.

Isobel meets Edward Gamble, an apothecary, who asks her to marry him. All seems well as the young couple boards a ship for America for a better life. But Isobel will soon find out about Edward's "true colors" as time passes. Their arrival in Salem opens the door to a different kind of survival. Acceptance in Salem takes on an almost bartering system that operates on the worthiness of the individuals to reside there.

Edward takes to the sea searching for elusive potion-making ingredients for his business. Isobel is left to make it on her own in a small rented cabin. She falls upon her talent for stitching and embroidering and sells her wares to small shops.

But in the absence of Edward, Isobel meets the writer Nathaniel Hawthorne who is taken with poetry and trying to publish his latest works. The flame is lit and we will experience a forbidden connection between these two. A connection that will begin to unravel the lives of them both.

Laurie Lico Albanese has created a superb cross-blend based on The Scarlet Letter and Hester Prynne. Albanese has an uncanny talent of bringing life to Isobel and form to the complicated character of Nathaniel Hawthorne. She parallels her story with that of Isobel's namesake in Scotland in 1662 accused of being a witch. She, too, had the gift of colors.

And in the mix of things we find the early makings of the Underground Railroad in contrast to the nepharious slave ships along the coast. Albanese brings out issues of class, social status, female status, poppy addiction, and judgmental attitudes toward immigrants from Ireland and Scotland. Hester is a work threaded in the human experience during this era with the realization that some things never change and some drastically do. Hester is a grand work by the talented Laurie Lico Albanese.

I received a copy of this book through NetGalley for an honest review. My thanks to St. Martin's Press and to Laurie Lico Albanese for the opportunity.

5 stars. I absolutely adored this book. It read like a vivid dream that I didn't want to end. While 17th/18th century is not normally my "go-to" this story had me spellbound from the first chapters. You will not be disappointed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced copy in exchange for my review.

~I was given an Advanced Reader Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!~

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese is an earnest, introspective reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. Isobel Gamble moves to New England with her seemingly charming husband, only to be immediately abandoned in a strange town and a strange, isolated cabin. She has what her mother called "her colors," which is shorthand for synesthesia, a neurological condition that links colors to words and letters. I was incredibly interested in synesthesia when I was younger, re-reading A Mango Shaped Space so many times, and I was delighted to see how Albanese addressed a condition that does not seem a far stretch from witchcraft or insanity, to the outside (and cynical) observer. Isobel wants to make a living with her needle, something her husband has forbidden her from doing, but she is in a new place and he is not there, and so she takes her life into her own hands for the first time. As she navigates the politics of Salem, Isobel meets and falls for a young Nathaniel Hathorne, feeling a kindred spirit in his melancholy isolation.

Albanese also weaves in interstitial asides that echo The Crucible and other accounts of witch trials, ruminating on who gets to be An American, the interplay of power between sexes, between races, between storyteller and muse. Hester is a slow-burning, evocative reimagining that completely entranced me.

Also, this cover is just gorgeous. I would stare at it all the time if I had a physical copy. I love an incredibly well-thought-out cover that ties in to the story so well, and each thread in the embroidered roses on the cover of Hester remind me of the stories Albanese is weaving together. A+++ work.

I loved this book! I do needlework so this book was a pleasant surprise when it was full of embroidery references. I will be recommending this book to my friends in my Embroidery/Needlepoint Guilds. The embroidery was so vividly described, I could picture it in my mind. I want to see Isobel's hand work and spend an afternoon with her in the 1800's.

Isobel is a young seamstress that came to the US from Scotland. She arrives in Salem, MA with her Opium addicted husband, Edward. Edward leaves on another ship headed towards the Caribbean. Isobel is forced to make a living for herself. She has high expectations of designing for herself from pattern making to the final product. This was unheard of for a woman to do these jobs that were typically held by men. Being an immigrant in this time was difficult. Eventually, Isobel meet a young author Nathaniel Hawthorn. The book is a good mix of of the 1600's Salem Witch trials and life in the 1800's. The book also brings in elements of The Scarlet Letter.

This book was a joy to read. Hester is well written. I enjoyed how the Salem Witch Trials and Isobel's life intertwined. Plus, how The Scarlet Letter was embroidered into this book.

I would like to thank NetGalley for an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. #NetGalley #Hester #LaurieLicoAlbanses

What an amazing story! It's adventure of crossing the ocean and starting a new life. It's romance as Isobel finds comfort while her father is gone. It's the story of Salem long after the witch trials but when the town still remembers. It's all those things and more!

As soon as I started this story, it was compelling and hard to put down. Isobel is easy to get to know - as you learn her needle work and her colors. There are also flashbacks in the story that tell the story of Isobel's long ago, many greats grandmother that feld the threat of being called a witch. Getting to know Salem again, so many years later, was intriguing and delicious. I loved the affect the witch trials had and the associated shame. It was so good I didn't want it to end. SO glad I read this one!

A huge thank you to the author and publisher for providing an e-ARC via Netgalley. This does not affect my opinion regarding the book.

I want to give this 4.5 because it was better than a 4 but I reserve 5 for penultimate books that just bring reading to the next level.

I usually despise historical fiction (I LOATHE Girl with a Pearl Earring), but The Scarlett Letter is one of my favorite books, so naturally I had to read Hester. I will never look at it the same way again after this. Hester is not what I thought it would be. I was expecting the same exciting, thrilling, forbidden romance that you get from The Scarlett Letter, but Hester turns all of that on it's head, digs deeper, and really uncovers the darkness underneath it.

The first thing you have to realize about this book is, it is fiction. It is not based on any real events. It is a made up story. The second is this fictional context gives the author a large amount of freedom to *create* this brilliant character. The beginning drags a little, but keep reading because the second half is a down hill ride that just doesn't stop. It's one of those books you feel sad has ended, because you just want to live there a little bit longer. It was 1st and foremost a genuine story and a great read. I loved it. It is a READ IT from me.

I am a huge Hawthorne fan, but this book has brought some brilliant insight for me about his work and life and some will find it uncomfortable. I found it revelatory.

Thank you to #stmartinspress for this #netgalley #arc. I received a copy in return for an honest review.

I am one of those people who have heard of The Scarlet Letter but hasn’t read it.

From that perspective this was a enwrapping book. Some of my ancestors hail from the same area so it’s fascinating to read her story.

This is a quiet and contained book about a woman who is trying to survive in a hostile environment. Most of the characters are fairly background with an impact. A historical women’s fiction with romance.

I was finished before I realized it.

Isobel is a young Scottish woman who must emigrate to Salem, MA in the early 1800s when her husband, Edward loses his apothecary business due to his opioid addiction. When Edward takes all of Isobel’s money and abandons her to join the crew of the ship that brought them to America, Isobel must rely on her needlework skills and help from her free African American neighbors to survive. She quickly earns a reputation as a skilled seamstress and embroidery artist but she has to hide her gift of “seeing” colors all around her which help her create her works of art. The people of Salem don’t accept immigrants readily and are still suspicious of anyone who could be using witchcraft. Fortunately for Isobel, they are unaware that her ancestor is Isobel Gowdie, an infamous 17th century “witch” in Scotland. In Edward’s absence, Isobel meets and falls in love with Nathaniel Hathorne (later Hawthorne) and her life takes a dramatic turn. In this reimagined story of The Scarlet Letter, Isobel, who hides a tiny red “A” in all her needlework to represent her home town, becomes the inspiration for Hawthorne’s character, Hester Prynne.
I’m a fan of “reimagined” fiction and this book did not disappoint in it’s creativity. The author does a great job of engaging the reader in Isobel’s emotions - love, fear, pain, etc. and this character is well-developed. Most of the other characters played somewhat minor roles so it was hard to get a sense of them and I wondered about their importance to the story. I would have liked much more character development of Nathaniel - he seemed so disengaged and elusive but maybe he really was like that. I did like the inclusion of the plight of freed and former slaves woven into the story. No spoilers but although it was evident early on what Mercy and Zeke (Isobel’s neighbors) were doing, their ingenious rescue of Isobel near the end of the book was heartwarming.
Thanks to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the Advanced Reader Copy!

The author spins a marvelous tale that attempts to answer the question of who was the inspiration behind the character of Hester Prynne in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Albanese creates a very plausible and enticing “what if” scenario that was behind Hawthorne’s masterpiece of Puritan sin and guilt. Unlike some of Hawthorne's stories, there isn't any recorded background on who inspired the characters of The Scarlet Letter. This historical novel isn't so much about Hawthorne, it's really about Isobel Gamble, a young seamstress who wins his heart and inspires his creativity to new heights.

Isobel has immigrated from Scotland (early 1800s) with her husband Edward to make a new start in Salem. Edward is an apothecary with addiction issues to opium, which has already led to a stint in the poor house. Edward has visions of making a fortune by creating an elixir that will increase longevity. He unexpectedly departs on a ship to gather the ingredients for his magic potion, and leaves Isobel to her own devices, alone and without any money.

Fortunately, Isobel does have a few things going for her. She is a gifted needleworker with both extraordinary skill, along with an amazing flair for design. Her creative ability is enhanced by synesthesia, which is the ability to hear color, feel sound, and taste shapes. Unfortunately, this condition is both a blessing and a curse, as she fears that having this ability will make her stand out and even create suspicion that she is a witch, and that she'll end up in a similar fate as her grandmother. The real sturm und drang really kicks in once Isobel's relationship with Hawthorne develops into a passionate affair that ignites both their creativity to new levels. Unfortunately, for Isobel, this romance contains not just ecstasy, but also a tremendous agony.

The character of Isobel is so beautifully fleshed out. As she encountered both triumphs and disappointments, I felt her pain and joy as well, it was quite an emotional roller coaster! The plot is developed very nicely, and the subplot of slaves escaping via the underground railroad was excellent as well. The author explored several important issues such as discrimination against immigrants, what constitutes a "real" American, and the power of female creativity. I found most of the characters quite enticing and endearing. In the book, Hawthorne accuses Isobel of enchanting him. I can make the same claim, not just Isobel, but all of Hester completely enchanted me from beginning to end. Highly recommended.

Based on Hester Prynne from the classic The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, this is a beautifully written book that I enjoyed reading. Now I need to re-read The Scarlet Letter.