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The Scarlet Letter

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The Scarlet Letter

By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
Narrated by: Ian Lynch
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Summary

The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, magnum opus, tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth two years after separation from her husband and is condemned to wear the scarlet letter A on her breast as punishment for her adultery. She resists all attempts of the 17th century Boston clergy to make her reveal the name of her child’s father while she struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity.

Public Domain (P)2011 Cherry Hill Publishing Classics Genre Fiction Historical Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Regency
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What disappointed you about The Scarlet Letter?

This is abridged. It is-lacking the lengthy "Custom-House" introduction written by the author. In the introduction we are told that the author worked in the Boston Custom-House and there discovered a cloth embroidered with the letter "A". Hawthorne DID work in the custom house, but that he discovered the embroidered "A" cloth is fictitious. The introduction must not be removed because it sets up why the following story is told. IF it is removed, customers must be told that it has been removed!

Secondly, the narration by Ian Lynch is TERRIBLE. His intonations for female characters and children are atrocious. They sound fake, shrill and unpleasant. There is too much dialog to ignore these unpleasant interludes. Also, in his reading of the lines the narrator stops and pauses in the wrong places.

This is a very good story. What is says is valid still today and Hawthorne's prose is perceptive and beautiful. I recommend that you choose a different audiobook!

Abridged. Lacks The Custom-House Introduction

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