While the concept of this book was interesting, I ultimately did not finish it. I think you need to have some level of understanding of the Scarlett Letter and the Salem Witch Trials and since it had been a while since I had read Scarlett Letter and learned about the trials, I was very confused and lost while reading. The writing was good but also found it a bit boring. I can definitely see why others would enjoy it, but it wasn't for me.

Hester is a brilliant retelling of The Scarlet Letter. Set in 1800's Salem, Isobel is a Scottish immigrant fleeing a terrible marriage who finds herself pregnant by none other than Nathanial Hawthorne. This book is so beautifully written and richly drawn. There's so much depth here. The author actually brings color to life, The female characters are all so strong and resilient. I loved every beautiful word of this book.

This used to be my favorite genre but over the last few years, not so much. Yet this story intrigued me, especially considering today’s feminist rage. The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 19th century - every student’s nightmare assigned novel, many teacher’s nemesis in HOW to engage kids with it, and really, a rather feminist take on what’s happening in today’s America.

A young woman named Hester, an unwed mother in puritan times, who instead of slinking off ashamedly chooses to proudly wear her scarlet A for Adultery, reminding the townspeople of their religious hypocrisy in their treatment of Hester and her daughter, Pearl.

But from whence did Hawthorne create this story? The rest of his books were fairly autobiographical; could this one be?

The new novel Hester answers that question and I was intrigued. At times the story dragged but rarely for me. It would definitely provoke some conversations around the hypocrisy and feminist backsliding we’ve seen lately in modern day America!

This is FANTASTIC! I loved the setting, I felt like I was there in Salem, MA during the early 1800's. I loved learning about the history of Salem, with good and bad. And adding the Underground Railroad story was such a great part! I loved the main character, Isobel. You can tell how much research this author did. I will definitely be reading more from this author.

What an incredible story! I’m so sad that it is over. I was not familiar with The Scarlett Letter (I know, I never had to read it growing up) but still loved the book! This is one of the best books I've read this year! Thanks so much, NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press, for the gifted ebook!

Hester should be the book read and taught in schools, not The Scarlet Letter.

Thank you, St. Martin's Press, for the digital ARC and finished copy of Hester!

Hester is a stunning and (literally) colorful reimagining of the heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic story, told through the eyes of Isobel. Author Laurie Lico Albanese gives us a new classic and relatable heroine and sweeping tale rooted in history and the often-persecuted "magic" of women.

This book is a Scottish immigrant story, a story of love and loss, and a story of resiliency against a lifetime of suppression and oppression. Even set in the mid-1800s, Isobel's journey and her struggles are timeless and universal.

And the writing - wow. Albanese weaves colorful magic in her words, bringing Isobel's intricate stitching to life. I'm definitely not a seamstress and I can't sew, but this book made me want to learn to tell stories with needle and thread.

This is the story of Isobel Gamble, a talented seamstress who arrives to America from Scotland with her husband Edward. Isobel is a descendent of Isobel Gowdie, a woman tried and found guilty of witchcraft, but who manages to escape to freedom. This is an original reimagining of the 1850s in Salem, MA, where you feel the history of witchcraft around every corner, and the ancestors of the witches and accusers live together, with or without much resentment.
Isabel and Edward have arrived here in an attempt to start over after he loses all their money in Scotland. He has grand ideas for an elixir of life and soon sails off with a trading ship to sell his idea, leaving Isobel alone.
She soon falls in love with a local, handsome writer, Nathaniel Hawthorne. He also leaves her, and she is forced to survive on her own, using only the skill of her needle to avoid starvation. There are very few friends in this town as most of the descendants of the original founders fear outsiders. Isobel soon makes friends with her neighbors, and ladies who admire her embroidery. The remainder of the story is how she fights the establishment and makes a name for herself with her extraordinary skills. Isobel has Synesthesia, and sees colors in people's voices, and in her letters. The Letter A is scarlet=passion, knowledge, and pain. Blue is hope, yellow is truth, orange is joy, and green is goodness. Her work soon becomes desired by locals and women from afar.
This story is about women's empowerment, feminism, and using your skills to your best advantage. There are also several subplots about slavery, and another timeline describing the history of Isobel Gowdie, her ancestor.
We also get a heaping does of the history of witchcraft during this time.
Very rarely have I enjoyed a re-imagining of a "Classic" as I did this one. For sure I probably would have enjoyed the original "The Scarlet Letter," back in high school Considering the fact that Halloween is just days away, perhaps a visit to Salem, MA would be appropriate. Trick or treat anyone???

Many thanks to NetGalley and St Martin's Press for a digital readers copy in exchange for a honest review.

I read the Scarlet Letter when I was younger in school. I remember thinking, Hester, poor Hester. When I saw the synopsis for this book, I was immediately intrigued. This isn't a retelling of the Scarlet Letter, it's more of the possible birth of the story. If you go into this thinking it's a retelling of the novel you will be disappointed. However, Laurie Lico Albanese does not disappoint. Her writing is beautiful and she weaves so much emotion and detail into it that you feel immersed in Isobel's story. All the characters are well developed and portrayed realistically. It is almost like a coming of age story for Isobel. You go on her journey and experience this world through her eyes. Isobel faces hardships as an immigrant to Salem. She has to learn how to survive in New England and navigate her surroundings. Isobel meets an array of people in Salem that shape her life, including Nathaniel Hawthorne. Lico Albanese takes the reader on an entertaining and engrossing history lesson. The hardships that Isobel and others experience during this time are relatable and not far from what we experience today.

If you enjoy feminist point of views like Circe or Ariadne, then you'll love this book. If you enjoy untold stories like Hamnet, then you'll love this book. Hester is a combination of all of these books. Days after reading this, it was still on my mind. This is my first Laurie Lico Albanese book and I know it won't be my last.

5⭐️

<b>“I’m not the girl in your story.”</b>

This book is perfect in every way. It is familiar, but infinitely better than the original tale. This book is The Scarlet Letter as told by the woman who inspired Hester, Isobel. Isobel comes to Salem with her husband, Edward, who is an apothecary who put them both in the poorhouse with his addiction to poppy. Isobel’s father pays Edward’s debts, and the two set off to the new world.

Isobel embroiders and sees color in everything - especially in voices. She uses her ability to draw inspiration for her work, and hopes to open her own shop in Salem. For her, the letter A has always been red, just as B is blue and C is yellow. Isobel’s mother had warned her to hide her colors because others may see it as witchcraft, and warns her that Isobel’s ancestress was accused of witchcraft and escaped. When Isobel’s mother dies, she takes Isobel’s colors with her. It isn’t until sailing aboard the <i>New Harmony</i> with Captain Darling that Isobel’s colors return.

On the ship, Isobel saves Captain Darling’s life and the two become friends; Captain Darling seeing Isobel’s talent with the needle provides her with supplies and inspiration while Edward is elsewhere. Once in Salem, Edward decides to sail again with Captain Darling, leaving Isobel alone in Salem society to learn how to fit in. While Edward is away, Isobel meets Nat Hathorne, a scholar and tortured soul who’s grandfather sentenced many Salem women to death for being witches. Nat’s guilt weighs on him heavily, and Isobel falls for him fast.

The two begin a secret relationship knowing it has an expiration date when Edward returns. But when the discussion of slaves comes up, and Nat’s opinion of slave owners retrieving their property, the reader and Isobel begin to see Nat’s true self. Isobel misses her bleeding, and has received word from Captain Darling that Edward will not be on this ship returning home. When Isobel reveals this information to Nat, he does not want any part of it and claims that Isobel bewitched him with her hidden scarlet letters in her work. Isobel is heartbroken, but holds onto hope that Nat will change his mind.

Edward does indeed return to Salem, and finds Isobel pregnant with another’s child. He threatens her, and forces her to trick her now friend, Mercy, a free black woman who Nat believes is an escaped slave and seeks to collect the reward for along with her daughter and son, into coming to Isobel’s cottage. Quickly, Isobel stitches the word RUN into her work that she is going to ask for Mercy’s assistance with. Mercy sees the message, and does not come to Isobel’s cottage. When Isobel attempts to escape, Edward finds her in the woods and she uses her needle and stabs it into Edward’s eye.

Isobel has made a life for herself in Salem, although it is not what she had expected, and her friends take care of her and her unborn child and get her out of Salem. Nat writes his version of their “romance” and publishes The Scarlet Letter with lies woven into the truth. In the end, Isobel realizes that love does not have to be painful, and admits her love to Captain Darling many years later, after her daughter, Margaret, becomes a mother herself.

I loved this book, and that it focuses so much on the friendships of the women and how Isobel has carved out her own space for herself in Salem despite being an outcast. Even when Felicity Adams kicks Isobel out of her shop, the women of Salem come to Isobel offering food as payment for her dresses and her help. I loved how Mercy was wary of Isobel at first, but soon their friendship bloomed and the women helped each other. I especially loved that even when Widow Higgins and Abigail began to suspect that Isobel was pregnant, they offered her help and advice instead of judgement.

<b> It’s not that we are witches or faeries or that we deny God. It is that we are more beautiful and strong together than apart.</b>

I liked the premise of this story being connected to the classic "The Scarlet Letter". The problem is it took far too long to connect, and at times I felt the connection was weak. I enjoyed the main storyline of Isobel and the supporting characters. Isobel, a young seamstress leaves Scotland with her husband Edward to go to America. On the boat ride she saves the Captain's life and starts having doubts about her husband and her journey. After arriving in Salem, her husband leaves on a ship to be a medic with no guarantee of his return. Edward has put himself in debt and stole Isobel's savings. She focuses on her needlework and becomes intrigued with Nat a handsome but troubled man. They find they have a connection and grow closer. Both having history with witchcraft and trials in their family. Isobel also bonds with another seamstress that is involved in the underground railroad. She does whatever she can to survive but starts to become unraveled with secrets and shaming of her lifestyle. In the end everything is wrapped up, providing the reader with closure.
Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for and advanced copy of the book.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese was a wonderful read. It is the back story for The Scarlet Letter. It gives some factional insight into what Hawthrone might have been thinking when he authored his novel. At the same time, we have the story of Isobel, as well as her history with witchcraft and magical colors. While the novel does not portray Hawthrone in a such good light, it does give one a peek into his literacy brilliance. Isobel is a strong woman, who does what she must do to survive. Also, the value of good friendships is celebrated in this novel. I enjoyed this book very much.

Isobel Gamble is a seamstress who immigrates with her husband Edward to the new world from Scotland in the 1800s in hopes of one day opening her own shop. Once they arrive, her husband Edward is an apothecary and sets sail with the local captain in search of exotic plants and herbs for his research. Until one day Edward leaves taking all of Isobel’s money and does not return. Struggling to make ends meet, Isobel takes on different jobs sewing for different families in the Salem area, her designs quickly become very desirable however she is not the one receiving the credit for her work. At the same time, she has caught the eye of Nathaniel Hawthorne, a trouble writer who struggles with a family “curse” which he is determined to break. As time goes on, the two form a bond that could cost them everything while also inspiring one of the most legendary love stories of all time.

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I really enjoyed this retelling and twist on Nathaniel Hawthorne’s inspiration for his novel “The Scarlet Letter”. However, do not be fooled, the real star of this story is not Nathaniel, it is the strong and brave Isobel Gamble. Isobel suffers from synesthesia which causes her to associate and visualize different colors with words. This is something that has been passed down through her family and is feared to be the result of witchcraft. Even though “The Scarlett Letter” is a romance I would not categorize this as one, the focus for me was more on Isobel and her character development as she tackles betrayal, heartbreak while remaining loyal to those who are dear to her. The story goes back and forth from Isobel to one of her ancestors also named Isobel who was tried as a witch but manages to escape. This story did not really relate much to the main storyline, it did not feel completely necessary but it does give a deeper look into how witchcraft has been tied to the family in the past. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an eARC of this novel in exchange for my honest review. This title is now available for purchase!

4.5 stars

I really enjoyed this book. I read The Scarlet Letter years ago, and I liked it in the same way I enjoy many classics…I appreciate them for what they are but also, no matter how hard I try, I almost always want them to be more, and that’s largely what I got from this novel. This book acts as an intriguing prequel of sorts to the original text, but it’s not necessary to be super familiar with it in order to understand the story. As long as they know the absolute basics about Puritan culture, the Salem witch trials, and Nathaniel Hawthorne, I think any reader could easily appreciate this updated, contemporary take on some of the issues. Even if they didn’t know anything about the other novel, this one stands on its own as an intriguing piece of historical fiction. I quite liked it and am excited to see what else the writer has created and will create in the future.

First, thank you to the publisher and author for providing me with a digital ARC of this title via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review.

I quite enjoyed this title. It was such a fun and interesting perspective on how Nathaniel Hawthorne came up with the idea for the Scarlet Letter. I love that this idea was presented in such an imaginative way within it's own interesting storyline. Enjoyable read.

This is an absolute gem if a novel. One of my top reads of the year. I love the descriptions of Salem as well as the plot. I have already recommended this novel to several people and will to many more!

I think this book will be talked about as a retelling of The Scarlet Letter, but I also think that will be wrong. This book contains a story that is clearly thematically and literally tied to that classic tale but at this moment, when retellings seem to be flooding our shelves, this book thankfully takes the source text and transforms it into a wholly new story. A story that has much more to say about Slavery in America than I expected going into it, let me tell you!

Hester is the story of Isobel, who leaves her family behind and crosses an ocean to start fresh in Salem, Massachusetts. There she meets a man, Nat Hathorne, a brooding, tortured, wealthy man who writes stories. Isobel comes from a long line of women who might have been thought to be witches, and now she finds herself in a place with a brutal history where witchcraft is concerned. She paints pictures with her needle and thread that had me drooling, the imagery in this novel was spectacular. You can guess what will happen in this novel by the title, but I was so swept up in Isobel that I forgot all about Hester Prynne.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher, St. Martin's Press, for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for this honest review!!

Have you read The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne? I did. When I was 14. I even remember those seemingly torturous never-ending paragraphs. That scarlet A has been making teens shudder since pretty much forever. Well, here’s a book that will take everything you remember from that reading experience and twist it into a unique historical fiction tale that will leave you enthusiastically chanting, “Hester! Hester! Hester!” And perhaps will even make you curious enough to revisit the classic.

Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese is one of my favorite historical fiction reads of the year!
It’s the story of Isobel Gamble, an unusually gifted seamstress from Scotland, whose husband abruptly leaves her all alone just days after arriving to Salem in the New World. She meets Nat, a curious man haunted by his ancestor’s actions who enjoys writing dark tales. When it seems unlikely her husband will be returning, Hester and Nat ignite a passion-fueled relationship that could potentially combust.

Told through multiple timelines, perspectives, and locations, historical fiction readers will rejoice at this fully immersive reading experience that includes a young woman’s immigrant experience, a portrayal of the early days of the Underground Railroad, and the long history of women being accused of witchcraft. This richly detailed historical story is imaginative and beautifully written, yet is deeply rooted by its strong female characters. This atmospheric reimagining of Hester Prynne gives the woman her voice and power back, and for this Laurie Lico Albanese deserves a standing ovation.

I highly recommend you add this to your autumn TBR. Thank you to @stmartinspress for providing a copy of this book to read and review.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me the privilege of an advance reading this incredible book - Hester. The book is such a unique premise of the author, Laurie Lico Albanese. For this is the story of Isobel who became the inspiration In Nathaniel Hawthorne's most famous work, The Scarlett Letter.

Beautifully written in symbolic colors that the talented seamstress extraordinaire Isobel embroiders into her pieces, is one of the subplots of this tale. The camaraderie of women who become empowered through the deeds of other women makes this a timeless theme while set in dual timelines in Salem, Massachusetts.

I will definitely be recommending this craft-fully told story to friends and my book club.

Imagining the inspiration for The Scarlet Letter held a good deal more fascination for me than simply retelling Hawthorne's novel (which I've never managed to finish) from another angle. That approach gave Albanese plenty of fresh space to explore, and it's clear she made the most of it, from synesthesia to the slave trade.

My favorite aspect of this novel was contemplating what it would be like to live in Salem, MA decades after the witchcraft trials. Long-term aftermath of the trials isn't something I'd devoted much thought to before. The fact that Isobel comes from a family with a history of witchcraft accusations mades that facet of the story all the more intriguing. I also appreciated Isobel's complicated feelings toward Nathaniel. Yes, it's a romance, but its messiness made the relationship ring much more true.

This book was excellent and I loved it. For some reason I was hesitating to read it - I’m not sure why I thought it might be dry. I don’t remember whether I read The Scarlet Letter in high school but I have something of a negative association with it that was stopping me from reading this book. There was no need - you don’t have to know or like The Scarlet Letter to enjoy Hester. It is incredibly read-able, compelling and suspenseful. I did not see the end coming because I was too wrapped up in the story. It’s a great examination of a piece of American history, and witchy without being fantasy. Highly recommended!