The Scarlet Letter

By: Nathaniel Hawthorne

Narrated by: Kate Petrie

One of the most important novels in classic literature, Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter tackles the subject of adultery, with the notorious Hester Prynne at the forefront of the scandal in the Massachusetts Bay Colony. In the beginning of the novel, Hester is serving time in prison for having a child out of wedlock and is forced to wear a scarlet A on her clothing at all times, so she cannot run from her sin no matter where she goes. Her husband has been away for around two years, and she refuses to name the father of her daughter, Pearl. The father is actually Reverend Dimmesdale, a timid man who keeps his secret from the community.

Hester's husband returns to the colony, where he finds out what has happened and makes it his personal goal to torment the father of Pearl. He discovers that it is Dimmesdale and tries to intimidate him. The pressure becomes too much for Dimmesdale, and after seven years of torture the reverend eventually admits what he has done and dies before a crowd of people. Not long after, Hester's husband also passes away, leaving Hester and her daughter enough money to escape the colony and finally have some peace. At the end, however, Hester decides to come back to the colony, and when she passes away, she is buried next to the reverend, with whom she had been in love.

Public Domain (P)2015 A.R.N. Publications

Very nice story for analyzation

The story was alright to me but can be amazing for others. I loved the narrator’s British accent, but she did make a good few mistakes that I could hear when reading.

Wonderful!

I really appreciated the accent and the very expressive voice of the narrator (female), and the story is very thought provoking and interesting. I would recommend to anyone who wants a light fascinating read, is reading for school and learn better with an audio as well, or anyone else who falls in a different category. The performance and voice of the narrator was very helpful and I would love more books like this one narrated by her. Thank you!

Masterpiece of Literature

A great performance of a true masterpiece of literature! Everyone should read this at least once.

Great performance but many errors

A real classic and well read, however as I follow along with the text, I notice many errors.

Great narration of a classic novel

The narrator brought the story to life. Despite the rather annoying voice she used for Pearl, she did a great job. The story is short, but really took you back to that period. I enjoyed this classic!