ThisNortonCriticalEditionofNathanielHawthorne'smostwidelyreadnovelappearsduringthebicentennialanniversaryyearofhisbirth.ThetextofTheScarletLetterisbasedonthe1850thirdedition,thefirstsetinstereotypeplatesandthebasisofsubsequentprintingsinHawthorne's.
AninvaluableselectionofcontextualmaterialincludesfiveHawthornestoriesthatarecloselyrelatedtoTheScarletLetter,alongwithrelevantlettersandnotebookentries.AsubstantialexcerptfromHawthorne'scampaignbiographyofFranklinPierceoffersarevealingglimpseatHawthorne'spoliticalthought,especiallyregardingslaveryandabolition.
"Criticism"providesacomprehensiveoverviewofearlyandmoderncommentaryonTheScarletLetterandthestoriesinthisedition,includingnineteenth-centuryreviewsofthenovelandcriticalessaysbyRobertS.Levine,NinaBaym,LarryJ.Reynolds,andJeanFaganYellin.
AChronologyandSelectedBibliographyarealsoincluded.
AbouttheSeries:NootherseriesofclassictextsequalsthecaliberoftheNortonCriticalEditions.Eachvolumecombinesthemostauthoritativetextavailablewiththecomprehensivepedagogicalapparatusnecessarytoappreciatetheworkfully.Carefulediting,first-ratetranslation,andthoroughexplanatoryannotationsalloweachtexttomeetthehighestliterarystandardswhileremainingaccessibletostudents.Eacheditionisprintedonacid-freepaperandeverytextintheseriesremainsinprint.NortonCriticalEditionsarethechoiceforexcellenceinscholarshipforstudentsatmorethan2,000universitiesworldwide.
