Interesting story! This is a fictional idea of who could have inspired Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Apparently, this is the only instance of the great author's work that the inspiration for a character is unknown. As a tortured soul, it makes sense that his inspiration could also have been a woman with a complicated past, and we get that here in this novel. Lico Albanese's character, Isobel, is an abandoned wife in a new land, who relies on the kindness of friends and neighbors to support herself. Among them is a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, a tormented writer who cannot forgive himself for his family's dark history. Isobel falls into a secret affair with Mr. Hawthorne, causing even more angst in both of their lives.
What I loved about this novel the most is it's descriptive details; specifically the way Isobel sees colors when people speak. Also, her beautiful embroidery captures the readers imagination, as it weaves itself into secret words and beautiful pictures.
I did not find this to be to heavy of a read, but I thought it well written and an interesting story. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for allowing me early access to this beautiful work.

What if Hester Prynne told her own story?

This reimagining of Hester Prynne from Nathaniel Hawthorne's Scarlet Letter is so well done! The author's copious research is evident in the rich details about the characters and life at that time. I loved how the plight of African and Black Americans is woven into this story.

This Hester Prynne story provides a fresh and intriguing look at her and a plausible alternate ending for her story. Hester is a must read for historical fiction fans!

I was drawn to this book for its connection to the classic, but found a book with more contemporary, evocative writing that built on that classic story. Highly recommend for fans of romance and fiction, Hester stood out as one of the best written books I’ve read this year

Hester is a retelling of the Scarlet Letter. As a fan of the Scarlet Letter, I was excited to read the retelling. However, it was very hard getting into the novel. Not only did very little happen in the story, but I did not feel sympathy for the main character. Isobel comes off as distant, dishonest, selfish, and cold. Therefore, I felt that she deserved whatever bad came her way. I also did not like the graphic scenes in this book and it felt unnecessary. Thus, Hester is a forgettable retelling to a beloved classic.

This book is extremely well-written, rich with detail, interesting characters and atmosphere. It took some time for me to immerse myself in the story which, in the beginning, felt to slow-paced for my liking. About half-way through, the story begins to emerge. more fully, and I felt intrigued by the events, particularly the love affair between Nat and Isobel. I also enjoyed the myriad of characters that Isobel comes to know during her time in Salem, especially those connected to the concurrent slave trade narrative.

This novel is told by Isobel, and I enjoyed seeing the circumstances through her eyes. The addition of the more historic story around the Salem witches was interesting and created a helpful backdrop to the story. However, sometimes this timeline seemed to interrupt the flow of the current story, which I was more interested in.

Readers who enjoy The Scarlet Letter, historical fiction and love stories will enjoy the retelling of the classic.

I know the book was imaginative but it felt so grounded in history. A unique storyline to imagine who/what/the events that inspired The Scarlett Letter. I thoroughly enjoyed the dual timeline and all of the historical events captured from the Witch Trials, Slave Catchers, early colonialism.

This was well written, but ultimately not for me. The Scarlett Letter retelling aspect was intriguing but for those of us who didn’t like it I was hoping for something a bit different.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing a free copy in exchange for my honest review

TITLE: HESTER
AUTHOR: Laurie Lico Albanese
PUB DATE: 10.04.2022 Now Available

What if Hester Pryne, can tell her story? Hester is that story. It is vivid. It is tragic. It is engrossing, and I enjoyed this one a lot. As a lover of historical fiction reads, I found this creative take of a beloved classic, a brilliant retelling, a masterpiece. I found the novel readable, and Isobel a character that will stay with me long after. I find myself pulling out my embroidery kit and I am finding myself enthralled with the rich and detailed writing about love, witches, Salem, and families.

I loved this expertly told historical fiction that centered around the potential muse of Nathaniel Hawthorne and his Classic The Scarlet Letter. Vividly woven with gorgeous imagery, this story contains many things I love—a strong female protagonist, a community of complex women some supportive and others less so, love, sex, lust, revenge and a sprinkle of thrill! Enjoyed the exceptional narration of the audiobook as well.

How often do you wonder how an author gets their ideas for a book? If it’s a good one, I almost always wonder. So, have you ever wondered how Nathaniel Hawthorne came up with the idea for The Scarlett Letter?

Hester is an historical fiction novel about this very idea. Isobel Gamble is a young, Scottish immigrant to Salem, Massachusetts. Her husband has become a worthless apothecary fallen under the spell of opium, hence their move to America after losing everything in Scotland.

Isobel meets the young Nathaniel Hawthorne and is immediately smitten despite her marriage. Her husband has gone to sea to earn a wage as a medic and won’t be gone for months. But, this Nathaniel Hawthorne is always around and appears intrigued by Isobel as well. Could Isobel be the real Hester???

This story is immersive and hypnotizing. I really, really enjoyed it! Definitely a book worthy of its beautiful cover! I recommend this to even the casual historical fiction reader and regular historical fiction readers will love it!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the opportunity to read this ARC.

Hester is a fabulous historical novel set in post witch-trial Salem. Isobel Gamble is a talented Scottish seamstress newly arrived in town with her apothecary husband. They had to flee Scott because of their debts caused by his opium addition. Within a few days of their arrival he sets off again to make his fortune leaving her alone and desolate.

Then Isobel meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne the attraction is undeniable and they begin a flirty and passionate romance. He shares his deepest torments of his ancestors being those who put witches to death. She shares her ancestral secret of magical visions and line of strong women. persecuted as witches. He is struggling to make a name for himself as a writer. She is trying to make a name for herself as dressmaker.

Soon Isobel finds herself pregnant and discovers that her secret romance is not much of a secret in small town Salem. Worse still-Nathaniel is staying away. When Isobel is finally able to speak to him he accuses her of bewitching him and denies that the child is his.

This book draws you in from the first page. The rich history of Salem, witches and the acclaimed novel, The Scarlet Letter, are cleverly woven together to tell a tale of Hawthorne's inspiration for Hester Prynne.

This is an interesting take on the origin of "The Scarlet Letter." Not totally convinced of the connection, but the story is a good one in any case. Lots of stress and strife for the female protagonist. Worth the read.

Isobel can see colors when she hears sounds, although there are a few people whose voices show no color at all. Her late mother warned her to hide her talents to avoid being labeled a witch. Now she's come from Scotland to a place that has it's own horrible history with persecuting women that had been accused of being witches.

I love historical fiction, however I do not like literary fiction. I quite enjoyed the beginning of this book. However, as it went on I became bored. The pacing was slow and I felt like nothing was happening. The “magic” was interesting but I would have liked to see more personality in the characters; they all seemed to have the same calm, monotonous tone to them. I did DNF this book at 40%, and though I’m not a fan of literary fiction, I do see the beauty in what this book was attempting. 3 stars.

As a high schooler I remember reading the Scarlet letter and just being like... this sucked. But then I saw the movie Easy A and found a new appreciation for the Scarlet Letter. So when this book came out I knew that I had to give it a try and luckily I liked it more than the Scarlet Letter. I thought the take on synethesia was really unique and I enjoyed the touchy of witchyness through ancestry. I thought that the dual pic worked really well in this instance and it helped with the flow of the story. There were still the overarching themes of societal norms, religion and morals, they were just executed better. I think the ending also really was well thought out. Overall I thought this book was well done.

*received for free from netgalley for honest review* Always like historical fiction and this as really great! would love to own and reread

Set in the early 1800s, Isobel Gamble leaves Scotland with her husband, Edward, to find a new life in America. Edward’s addictions and debts haunted their former life, and when he abruptly leaves the New World on a sailing vessel, Isobel must create her own life and community in Salem, Massachusetts. While in Salem, Isobel uses her skill with the needle to find work, and befriends individuals from all walks of life. Always on her mind are the secrets from her old life and ancestors, not to mention her own mysterious talents that may appear too close to witchcraft in an outsider’s eyes. Another aspect of Isobel’s life in the New World is her developing friendship with a young writer named Nathanial Hawthrone, who instantly draws Isobel in with his quiet charm.

While at times slightly slow, this was a fun story to follow, and sucked me in the further I read! It is an interesting reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne in Hawthorne’s Scarlet Letter (a fun throwback for me to high school). Overall, this story is about self-discovery and self-worth, friendship, ambition, and the women who have the power to lift each other up, or break others down.

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

I was lucky enough to get an advanced copy of this book & then my online book club picked it and the author agreed to be on our zoom meeting! She is an absolute delight and I'm now off to read her other books.

Let me preface that I had homework to do before reading this book. I couldn't remember if I ever read The Scarlet Letter or not in school when most people read it. I know I'd watched Easy A (the movie) and I'm guessing from popular culture, or shared memory, I knew the basics, but I decided to get the full Hester experience I needed to read it first.

Hester is written as an re-imagining of Hester's side of the story or really who in Nathanial Hawthorne's life was the inspiration for her)...because in The Scarlet Letter the story is told more from a narrator's point of view instead of any certain character.

Isobel Gamble arrives in America and her husband decides to return to sea with the captain of the ship they came over from Scotland with, so she's left alone with no friends or family in a new country. She & Nathanial Hawthorne noticed each other right away and slowly build a friendship that eventually becomes more until she discovers she's pregnant. On top of that the husband who'd been reported left behind somewhere on their travels shows up and threatens her.

You can tell this book was heavily researched. In our book club chart the author gave us a lot of background info on things she researched & it was fascinating. My favorite thing with historical fiction is when it's based on actual history or a historical person or event and reading it makes me want to learn more.

The imagery you get when reading about Isobel's synesthesia and her sewing and the colors was amazing for me because I'm one of those people who pictures things immediately after reading or hearing something.

If you like historical fiction, you should definately give this book a try.

Isobel was told from an early age to not speak about her colors, colors she sees with sounds and for letters. Ancestors of Isobel’s have been accused of witchcraft, a part of history that her mother fears will be repeated if people learned the truth about her daughter. Isobel shares another ability with her ancestors; she is very talented with a needle, sewing clothes and embroidering beautiful things with bright, beautiful colors. When Isobel marries Edward, an apothecary, she is soon facing the severe consequences of his opium addiction. Moving to the New World with hopes for a fresh start, Isobel soon finds herself alone when Edward joins a ship as a medic and sails off. Left alone Isobel meets Nathaniel Hathorne, a young writer whom she soon falls for. Both storytellers and both muses, they soon find themselves in a tangled web that ultimately ends in The Scarlet Letter.

I liked Hester. It is an entertaining story imagining the events that inspired the character of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. I liked the originality of this novel, as well as the characters. I especially liked Mercy. Not only is she a strong, fierce woman, she is very self aware, as well as being exceptionally wise about the realities of society at that time, and I loved her desire and drive to help fix some of society’s wrongs. Hester does a great job showing the norms of society, especially the treatment of women, which just added to the strength of the characters as I saw them. I couldn’t get enough of this novel and I flew through it, wanting to see how it would end. The ending itself was, I felt, very fitting to the story.

Such an original story. Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese is the story of a young woman, Isobel Gamble who is married to a man addicted to opium and has made a mess of their life is Scotland. They are forced to head to the new world, on arrival Edward shows her true colors again and leaves on another ship. He has taken, her little bit of savings and she is now stuck in Salem. Salem doesn’t like newcomers. They like to remember everyone’s sins and failures. They don’t want to have to learn about someone new. It is clear that Isobel is going to have to find work and find it quickly. She is a proficient seamstress and will try to find work doing that. She secures a job, makes a friend and encounters a young Nathaniel Hawthorne. They have an instant connection and they find muses with each other. As time passes on it seems more unlikely that a Edward will come back and a new relationship between Isobel and Nathaniel starts.
But does she really need this distraction? Her work is getting noticed and her employer isn’t paying her fairly and taking credit for her work. She knows she can make more money but how? Should she cross her employer? This story is wonderfully written. The story itself is original and I believe the author did a terrific job weaving the timelines and the behavior of the people of Salem, with her fictional work.
I really enjoyed this one and I couldn’t put it down. I want to thank Netgalley & the author for my copy for an honest review. It was an absolute pleasure reading & reviewing it. I am such a history buff and this book was just excellent.. this was a 5 star read for me. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.