Fall Book Club: The Scarlet Letter (Part 2 of 3)

Primary tabs

Age Group:

Adults
Please note you are looking at an event that has already happened.

Program Description

Event Details

Published in 1850, The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne was one of America's first mass-produced novels, and it was an instant popular hit, though not without drawing critical controversy. It is a work of historical fiction set in Puritan New England, but it also addresses the moral concerns of the author's own time.  Hawthorne was descended from a famous Puritan judge, and found concern with how society carries out justice and the need for social redemption.  He describes this novel as a "Romance" in that it partakes both of material realism and fairy-tale qualities, both of which he employs to create a story that is timeless as well as historical, and deeply psychologically compelling.

Our guest discussion leader is Dr. Heather Edwards, a scholar of English literature.

Sponsored by the Friends of the Athens Public Library.