This book was so rich and colorful! I loved Isobel’s “gift” of being able to see color in letters and people’s words. I thought this was very interesting and a nice take on who/what might have inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s book, The Scarlet Letter. I really enjoyed the setting and the way the book incorporated pieces of history in the Salem witch trials as well as about the Slave trade and the Slave catching trade in the Northern states. Was definitely a slower read for me, but one I really appreciated. Definitely recommend for those that love historical fiction!

Beautifully written, Hester is a must read for those who enjoy a good classics companion. I can definitely picture myself re-reading The Scarlet Letter alongside a re-read of Hester next November. There's a lot of nuance in this novel, but it all feels very real for the time period and it's obvious that while there were creative liberties taken, the author did a good job with her research for this novel. I loved the writing style but was not a fan of the on page attempted abortion without warning. But I thought the author did a decent job handling the subject as well as Isobel's feelings about her child before and after.

A fresh and innovative spin on an old classic, a feminist nod to The Scarlet Letter. Historical fiction set during the time of The Salem Witch trials. A clever and capitaving novel that was difficult to put down.

HESTER by Laurie Lico Albanese

In exploring in fiction a possible inspiration for THE SCARLET LETTER, Albanese has created a rich and complex story, filled with lush descriptions of places and people and exquisite needlework. It is enriched by lessons in human kindness and cruelty, strength, courage, and triumph over defeat and sorrow.
Isobel, descended from a woman who escaped from witch-hunters, learns to “trust her needle” and protect herself and those she cares for. I remember my own anger in high school, reading of the unfair treatment of Hester and Pearl, and applauding her courage and compassion. Applause now for Isobel and Mercy and all who stand against injustice, fear, and lies, helping one another along the road.

Wow! This book is PHENOMENAL! It is haunting, gripping, heartbreaking, moving, full of hope, and so much more. Whenever I picked up "Hester", I was whisked back in time, and went on such an emotional journey with this story.

This is the first book I have read by Laurie Lico Albanese, and it certainly will not be my last. Her writing style is incredibly vivid, detailed, descriptive, and immersive. I can only imagine the amount of research the author must have done, as I could truly envision each and every scene, moment, and location throughout the book, as it jumped right off of the page before my eyes. She seamlessly weaves together history and fiction, and I truly could not put this book down. She takes two timelines and brilliantly shows their connection, and how they are similar and different as well.

This book tells the story of Isobel Gamble, a young seamstress who, upon arriving in Salem, Massachusetts, hopes to start anew and follow her heart and dreams. Isobel has synesthesia, and sees colors in almost everything, from the way people speak to much of the world around her. She tells stories in the work she creates, and is incredibly strong. I do not want to say too much about the plot due to spoilers, but, I will simply say, this novel has so much in it. When Isobel meets Nathaniel Hathorne, her life is forever changed. With heartbreak, fear, hope, and so much, this novel truly had me holding my breath and on the edge of my seat hoping Isobel would find the peace and happiness she so deserved.

Throughout the book, there are also stories told from the Salem Witch Trials, which are absolutely heartbreaking. There are many nods to "The Scarlet Letter" as well.

I absolutely loved the female friendships in this book, and how supportive of one another they are. Furthermore, Mercy is such an incredible person, and is so strong, brave and loving. I also adore Captain Darling as well. He has such a beautiful and caring heart.

If you enjoy historical fiction, I highly recommend this book! It kept me turning the pages into the early hours of the morning to see what would happen next, and I can't wait to read what Laurie Lico Albanese writes next!

Thank you so much to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the ARC of this novel, it is incredible. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

Please Note: This book deals with extremely heavy subject matter.

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ (I adored it. One of my favorites of the year!)
••••••
The Scarlet Letter is by far my most favorite classic novel, so I couldn’t wait to read Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese, which imagines the woman who could have inspired Nathanie Hawthorne. The story exceeded my oh so high expectations. Read this when you are in the mood for beautifully-written, evocative historical fiction that features real-life and invented characters. It is Mr. Dickens and His Carol by Samantha Silva meets Hamlet by Maggie O’Farrell. Best paired with warm bread, boiled eggs, a ham hock cooked with pepper and cod cakes. XO, Tara

This is one of my favorite books of the year. I know I'm really hooked on a book when I switch back and forth between print and audio so I can be reading no matter what. That is exactly what I did with this title, I absolutely loved it.

I enjoyed this feminist retelling of The Scarlett Letter. Although I sometimes felt the middle dragged, I was ultimately happy that I stuck with the story!

Read if you like: classics retelling.
-
Inspired by the Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne, the author places Hawthorne as a character in the book and creates the character of Isobel, who inspired the character of Hester.
-
Isobel grew up in Scotland with synesthesia and is told to hide her abilities in case of being accused of being a witch like her ancestor. She travels to Salem with her husband and there she meets Nathaniel and is forced to take care of herself with her sewing and embroidery.
-
This was a fun reimagining and I loved Isobel. She led an interesting life and worked hard to take care of herself.

I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

This book provides an excellent description of Salem in the 19th century, as well as glimpses into the 17th century with the area's well-known witchcraft trials. Young Nat Hawthorne cannot escape the past. His long-ago relative was responsible for the deaths of many young women in 1692. He meets Isobel, a recent immigrant from Scotland, and appears to be smitten. She also has a familial connection to people accused of being witches. Some of the women in her family have special senses; they see colors when others talk.

The story also focuses on the issues of slavery, treatment of blacks in the north, and the underground railroad in Salem.

Since I live in the Salem area, I enjoyed the contrast with the city today and how the neighborhoods have changed...and yet, remain the same.

'Hester' weaves a tale that spans time and transcends what the eye can see. At first, I was a little confused with the time jumps and could not understand what the purpose was but once I continued reading the rhythm made a lot more sense. The sense of loneliness and despair, the attempts at finding happiness and fulfillment, all of these are things many women face- these are not new feelings, they are not unknown, but 'Hester' does an excellent job of making them seem raw and real, despite being familiar, known emotions.

Laurie Lico Albanese nails it with this one, and I look forward to more.

Short version: Hester reimagines the story of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne in “The Scarlet Letter.”

I had a slow start to this novel, as things start out pretty rough for our heroine, Isobel Gamble. Her mother dies when she is young, and then she is married off to a gross older man who makes a lot of bad choices. But once she began to connect to characters in her new community in Salem, I became more interested - I cannot handle when a story is ALL suffering.

Author Laurie Lico Albanese has a lot of interesting things to say about how men were able to treat women - and the ways that women were able to find ways to fend for themselves and each other that may have been overlooked by the history books. And why? Well, who often had the opportunity to write - and publish - the stories we tell from history?

Too many colors

Please, don’t twist my mind, don’t ruin the image I have of some historical dude or dude-ess by making up stuff. Yes, I have a beef with historical fiction that’s about a real person. No matter how hard I try to not believe everything I read, my mind soaks it up as truth. I would probably testify in court that some real so-and-so committed various crimes based on what my beloved novel (full of fake people) told me. Now that’s messed up, lol! And once the new image is sitting in my head, there’s no room for my original thoughts. Okay, this is me spewing mouthfuls of vagueness, which I hate doing. But if I spill, I could ruin the story for you because you’d know where it was going.

The book is set in 1829 and is a reimagining of a woman who was the inspiration for Hester Prynne, the tragic character in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter. The heroine of this book is Isobel, a seamstress who travels with her husband from Scotland to Massachusetts. She has synesthesia, which in her case means she sees colors where there aren’t any. In those days, this condition wasn’t known to be a real thing, so everyone thought she was witch-y. She had to “hide her colors.” The folks in her new town didn’t like her because she came from Scotland; she was an outsider. It was interesting (and sad) to see the prejudice. The book also has a side plot of the witch trials from the 1600s.

Joy Jar:

-Even though needles and thread (women’s work) were in my face the whole time, the writer was careful to elevate the story from a mere drab Domestic Donna drama to a pretty cool Amy the Artist tale. You start to see Isobel’s gloves and dresses and capes as artistic pieces.

-Isobel was strong and smart and a go-getter. I’m always a sucker for a feisty woman character.

-The other characters—her husband, her friends, her lover—are all interesting and well-drawn.

-The writing is accessible, and it’s smooth sailing language-wise.

-The story picked up in the middle, and the ending was exciting.

-The talk about slavery and the Underground Railroad was illuminating.

Complaint Board:

-Don’t make me think bad thoughts about people of the past! (I’ve already discussed this whine.)

-The side story about the witch trials was BOR-ING! Plus it was a case of been there, done that. I’m tired of witch stories. I know it was heinous, what they did to innocent women, but enough already. I was annoyed when the old story interrupted the main story, never a good sign. And it happened all the time.

-Isobel’s ability to see colors completely got on my nerves. The author went overboard describing the exact colors, Isobel’s exact experience. Too much detail. I wanted dialogue and drama.

-There was the annoying mention of herbs and faeries. I hate it when there is any woo-woo stuff going on. It was minimal, but I always pick up on it no matter how small, and it gets bigger in my head.

-Enough with the sewing already. I wanted people, not thimbles. It was sewing sewing sewing, love story, sewing sewing sewing. I wanted the love story front and center, not the other way around.

-Even though the writing was fine, it seemed too wholesome. Maybe it’s because the writing wasn’t in the least edgy, or maybe it’s just that I associate so much sewing with boring domesticity.

-Evil man, flawless woman. I get tired of the men always being the bad guys.

-I wasn’t hot to pick the book up, especially during the first half.

Bottom line:

This was a decent read, but the sewing and colors stuff definitely had too much air time. Give me the love story any day.

Oh, and by the way, you can enjoy this even if you didn’t ever read The Scarlet Letter. I read that book in high school and remember no details, only the gist. I think it enhanced my experience a bit, but no biggie.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy.

I loved this story. The authors writing is authentic. Telling a coming to America tale, Isobel comes to America with her husband. Once here his ways of addiction get them into more troubles than they had in Scotland. Isobel falls under the charms of a young Nathaniel Hawthorn. With bit of history about the witches and Salem Massachusetts I was quickly under the spell of Laurie Albanese

This is a unique premise for a book and I like the approach as well as the storyline. Full of myth, mysticism and intrigue. If you like historic fiction threaded with a bit of fantasy as a reader you will enjoy this book. Scotland, 17th century: Isobel Gowdie is four-years-old when her mother teaches her how to make letters with a needle. The letters are supposed to be black, but Isobel sees colors associated with letters, and stitches them according to her vision. When her mother smacks her knuckles, Isobel sees fear in her eyes. Fear, because her mother doesn’t want people to call Isobel crazy. A witch, and here, witches are hanged or burned. One-hundred-forty-years later, Isobel Gamble, descendent of Isobel Gowdie, is conscripted to tambour shop by her mother, a place without colors. But Isobel dreams to be a pattern-maker. She is taught to fear anything that hints at witchcraft. When she meets a man that promises her a sewing room of her own, she accepts his proposal. His poor decisions lead to the poorhouse, and later see them bound for America. As they arrive in the New World, Isobel quickly recognizes some opportunities, awakening her dream of embroidery pattern-making. Her path crosses with Nathaniel Hawthorne, and they feel an attraction from the first encounter. Isobel is a captivating character. She lives in a time when she is supposed to depend on a man, but she sees the New World as her opportunity. I really enjoyed this book. The writing flowed well and the story was easy to follow. Isobel was a strong female character who seemed mature beyond her years and the other characters were well fleshed out. There was a lot of historical information to do with slavery and the underground railway as well as prejudice to do with class and I was left feeling thankful that I didn't live in those times.

Thank you NetGalley, Laurie Lico Albanese, and St. Martin’s Press

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese is the story of Hester Prynn from the Scarlet Letter, it is a fictional take on who Hester may have been.

Isobel is a wife, seamstress, and descended from witches. While Isobel's husband is off on an adventure, Isobel's life collides with Nathaniel Hawthorn. This is Isobel's story.

It is not necessary to be familiar with THE SCARLET LETTER to read this book but I do think it would help.
It was interesting enough, though slow moving at times. If you enjoy historical fiction, it is a definite read.

This book imagines a story around the inspiration for Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Isobel Gamble is a Scottish seamstress who flees Glasgow and sails to the New World in the early 1800s with her apothecary husband Edward. It is absolutely beautifully written and was a page turner for me. It is about love, morality, secrets and freedom. I also loved reading about Salem, Massachusetts during that time. I remember visiting Hawthorne’s birthplace (which is a museum now) after reading The House of Seven Gables and The Scarlet Letter in high school. I find that these retellings of classics either work well or fall flat. This one is superbly done! Highly recommend.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC - it is available now.

Hester is the colorfully imagined story of the woman who might have just inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. Beautifully written, and exceptionally described, I felt like I was back in the 1600’s and 1800’s with a simpler way of life but with much greater restrictions on women’s rights. Romantic and intriguing, I was completely engrossed in the story. Highly recommend you read this book!

Hester is a historical fiction novel with a touch of witch craft. Based on the events surrounding the publication of Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" this story gave color and personality to both Nat and his relationships. Told from two historical points it paints a romantic and tragic story. Lovely book all around.

A beautifully written, Scarlet Letter adjacent, novel. The author's writing was incredible throughout the book, there were so many lines that resonated with me and that I highlighted. I enjoyed learning about Salem in the 1800s and embroidery. Finally, while I liked the book, the last few pages made it all come full circle to me and made it an amazing literary experience.