Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was an American novelist and short story writer. His works often focus on history, morality, and religion.

Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a work of historical fiction published in 1850. Set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony during the years 1642 to 1649, the novel tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter with a man to whom she is not married and then struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. As punishment, she must wear a scarlet letter ‘A’ (for “adultery”).

The Scarlet Letter was one of the first mass-produced books in the United States. It was popular when first published and is considered a classic work of American literature.[bio via wikipedia]

Hawthorne’s most famous book is a classic, but…have you read it? Or seen one of the many movies/tv shows which incorporate it? (I’m looking at you, Easy A!)