BOOK CLUB November: "Hester" (a novel, prequel to The Scarlet Letter)

A bit of Americana at its fullest for November.

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. In the mix of things we find the early makings of the Underground Railroad in contrast to the nefarious 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 hardly ever change.