#182 in Historical fiction
The Scarlet Letter
- 174
- Pages
- about 3 h
- Reading time
- Film 1995 +9
- On screen
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Our view
Hester Prynne is the reason to read this: a stubborn, complicated heroine whose dignity under public shame still impresses. Getting to her takes effort: some readers find the introductory Custom House section heavy going, and Hawthorne explains every detail at such length that a short novel can feel long. Some value it more in retrospect than during the reading. For patient readers interested in guilt, sin and a community’s judgement.
The view of the BookRank editors, written from readers’ ratings and comments. It does not affect the score or the book’s place in a ranking.
About the book
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a historical novel by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne, 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 lead a new life of repentance and dignity. As punishment, she must wear a scarlet letter 'A'. Containing a number of religious and historic allusions, the book explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt.
On screen
This book has been adapted for the screen 10 times — from 1908 to 1995.
- FilmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
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- FilmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
- Short filmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
- FilmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
- Short filmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
- FilmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
- FilmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
- FilmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
- TV filmThe Scarlet LetterIMDb
Adaptation data: Wikidata · On screen →
Where the score comes from
The sources average 6.4 across 1,152 ratings. With that many, the reader vote carries 89% of the weight and the score stays at 6.6 — the Historical fiction average of 8.0 barely moves it.
| Source | Average | Ratings | Weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| Open Library | 6.8 | 132 | 12% |
| Hardcover | 6.3 | 1K | 89% |
Frequently asked
How long is The Scarlet Letter?
It has 174 pages — shorter than 96% of the ranked books in Historical fiction.
In this book
Themes this book shares with others — each leads to the best books on it.
If you liked this
Same shelf — Historical fiction — with scores between 7.4 and 8.4, closest to this book.
