The Scarlet Letter (paperback) Nathaniel Hawthorne

The text of The Scarlet Letter offered her is that of the first edition (March 1850) to which the editors have prefixed Hawthorne's brief preface to the second edition (April 1850). The editors of this Norton Critical Edition were among the first to recognize the validity of this text, and their choice has been vindicated ever since. 

The text is follwed by the ever valuable section of early reviews, which is in turn followed by the section entitled, "Recent Essays in Backgrounds and Sources," wherein scholars demonstrate how Hawthorne worked with his sources. 

The critical essays have been divided into two sections, one containing criticism of Hawthorne's prefatory "Custom-House," the other containiing critical materials on the novel itself. For the Third Edition Gross has chosen, from the over two hundren Hawthorne essays that have appeared since the last edition, the best and most useful in the classroom.

September 2023