Saskia Maarleveld delivers a beautiful performance in HESTER, an imagined story of the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s SCARLET LETTER. Immediately after Isobel and Edward Gamble arrive in Salem, Massachusetts, from Scotland, Edward takes off to sea again. Master seamstress Isobel has to be careful—she sees letters as colors—and in 1829 Salem, years after the infamous witch trials, that can still be dangerous. Nat’s attraction to Isobel is instantaneous. Maarleveld provides the necessary electricity, the yearning, the longing, and, of course, the guilt. Maarleveld’s Nat is weak, troubled by his desires; her Isobel is luminous, struggling to maintain her dignity. And the depth of Maarleveld’s secondary characters makes them more than mere background. This well-written, well-researched, and masterfully performed novel provides satisfying listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
Hester: A Novel
Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Laurie Lico AlbaneseUnabridged — 9 hours, 52 minutes
Hester: A Novel
Narrated by Saskia Maarleveld
Laurie Lico AlbaneseUnabridged — 9 hours, 52 minutes
Audiobook (Digital)
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Overview
"This well-written, well-researched, and masterfully performed novel provides satisfying listening."- AudioFile (Earphones Award Winner)
A vivid reimagining of the woman who inspired Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, and a journey into the enduring legacy of New England's witchcraft trials.
Who is the real Hester Prynne?
Isobel Gamble is a young seamstress carrying generations of secrets when she sets sail from Scotland in the early 1800s with her husband, Edward. An apothecary who has fallen under the spell of opium, his pile of debts have forced them to flee Edinburgh for a fresh start in the New World. But only days after they've arrived in Salem, Edward abruptly joins a departing ship as a medic--leaving Isobel penniless and alone in a strange country, forced to make her way by any means possible.
When she meets a young Nathaniel Hawthorne, the two are instantly drawn to each other: he is a man haunted by his ancestors, who sent innocent women to the gallows--while she is an unusually gifted needleworker, troubled by her own strange talents. As the weeks pass and Edward's safe return grows increasingly unlikely, Nathaniel and Isobel grow closer and closer. Together, they are a muse and a dark storyteller; the enchanter and the enchanted. But which is which?
In this sensuous and hypnotizing tale, a young immigrant woman grapples with our country's complicated past, and learns that America's ideas of freedom and liberty often fall short of their promise. Interwoven with Isobel and Nathaniel's story is a vivid interrogation of who gets to be a "real" American in the first half of the 19th century, a depiction of the early days of the Underground Railroad in New England, and atmospheric interstitials that capture the long history of "unusual" women being accused of witchcraft. Meticulously researched yet evocatively imagined, Laurie Lico Albanese's Hester is a timeless tale of art, ambition, and desire that examines the roots of female creative power and the men who try to shut it down.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press.
Editorial Reviews
06/13/2022
Albanese (Stolen Beauty) imagines in her standout historical the inspiration for The Scarlet Letter. Her proxy for Hester Prynne is Isobel Gamble, a skilled seamstress who has synesthesia and left her native Scotland for the U.S. in 1829 after her apothecary husband Edward’s addiction to opium sent them to the poorhouse. Isobel’s father paid their way out, and the couple took passage onboard a ship bound for America. Once stymied in her ability to express herself creatively, in Salem she uses her talents with needle and thread. She has a chance encounter with writer Nathaniel Hawthorne, recognizing in him a kindred spirit yearning for freedom, a spirit that moves Isobel to risk her life to protect people fleeing slavery. Later, her independent-mindedness leads to suspicions of adultery. Albanese describes Isobel’s synesthesia brilliantly, such as in this memory of her cousins in a Scotland valley: “Their voices rise up in vibrant wisps of yellow and gold. The wind was sometimes fierce pink, and the sound of the waterfall on rocks glinted silver.” Even those unfamiliar with the classic will be hooked by this account of a capable woman standing up to the sexist and racial prejudices of her time. (Oct.)
"Like the greatest historical fiction, Hester manages to make you believe utterly in its narrator, feel entirely that this story is real, and ground you in the day to day of a bustling 19th century world that promises the freedom of America while exacting its horrific steep price on the Native Americans it destroys, the slaves it brings in chains, and the women it crushes. It's a story about America itself, and the fury, righteousness and mercy in which it was formed." ––Gillian Flynn, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"Engrossing." ––WBUR / NPR Boston
"This thoughtfully researched tale shines a light on the barriers faced by 19th-century women who did not conform." ––Washington Post
"A unique take on a story that tackles what it costs to be an "unusual" woman." ––BuzzFeed
"Albanese’s novel will engage readers seeking racial themes, a resilient heroine, and a feminist origin story for one of America’s always relevant nineteenth-century classics." ––Booklist
"A lovely fictional look at the origins of [Hawthorne’s] masterpiece…the rich details of life in Salem in the early 19th century, and especially about Isobel’s creative work as a seamstress and designer, enliven the tale." ––Kirkus
"In Hester, Albanese has masterminded a thoroughly immersive drama and a memorable, spirited heroine for the ages. Albanese's elegant writing captures the dynamic, sensual energy between Isobel and Nat in breathtaking detail. Isobel's appeal crosses cultural and generational borders to embody a timeless existential quest for the freedom to love and live as one pleases." ––Shelf Awareness
"A standout historical… Even those unfamiliar with the classic will be hooked by this account of a capable woman standing up to the sexist and racial prejudices of her time." ––Publishers Weekly
"Hester is a vividly reimagined portrayal of the tragic heroine in Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. "Full of lush and colorful prose, this is a tale of one woman's determination and self-reliance amid the 'new world' of 19th-century Salem, which teems with festering secrets and alluring prospects. A message of resilience, Hester proves that a woman will do whatever she must to prosper, even when she is left with nothing but courage—and a few secrets of her own." ––Sarah Penner, New York Times bestselling author of The Lost Apothecary
"Albanese has written a masterpiece that should be required reading alongside Hawthorne’s classic tale of adultery. Rich in detail and hauntingly lyrical, she examines the myriad ways that extraordinary women are judged harshly and forced to downplay their gifts in order to conform to society’s demands. Enthralling, ambitious, and a total knock-out." ––Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue
"This modern spin on an old story is rich in surprises and human drama, combining factual history, invention, and artistic sensibility." ––New Jersey Monthly
"A rich tapestry of a novel. In dreamlike yet vivid prose, Albanese weaves a story about 19th century Salem, a place with a dark history where secrets still abound, and conjures the life of Hawthorne’s muse, a woman whose skill and imagination are both the key to her survival and the source of others’ mistrust and envy. Vivid, complex, and intricately detailed." ––Christina Baker Kline, #1 New York Times bestselling author
"This page-turning and poignant novel beautifully imagines the untold life story of the woman who went down in literary history wearing a scarlet letter. Albanese lets the reader accompany her through an early life of secret powers and difficult attachments on her way to becoming a strong and independent woman." ––Alice Elliott Dark, author of Fellowship Point
"The diverse women at the heart of The Crucible, the Salem witch trials, and The Scarlet Letter at last get their say—in full-throated technicolor. A luminous blend of fiction and truth, with an extraordinarily gifted heroine at its center, Hester weaves together a spellbinding tapestry of Salem history as it has never been told before." ––Afia Atakora, author of Conjure Women
"Albanese writes beautifully." ––Historical Novel Review
★ 10/14/2022
The protagonist of this novel from Albanese (Stolen Beauty) is mesmerizing and believable as the inspiration for Hawthorne's Hester Prynne. Isobel Gamble and her husband Edward leave Scotland and head for America after Edward's opium addiction has ruined his finances and reputation. Upon arrival in Salem, Edward promptly abandons Isobel and heads back out to sea, working as a medic. While Isobel is a talented seamstress, she must now depend on her needle to survive. Living in America is not what she imagined. Her skills and immigrant status earn her suspicion, forcing her to carefully conceal her synesthesia, and the accusations of witchcraft in her ancestral history. Despite her vulnerable situation, Isobel strikes up an acquaintance with a young Nat Hathorne, which quickly develops into a spellbinding passion, resulting in Isobel's becoming the inspiration for one of the most well-known and controversial novels ever written. VERDICT This generously researched and compelling novel will draw readers deep into Isobel's refusal to be suppressed and her determination to live life on her own terms. It is a seductive, ambitious, and triumphant story of resilience and courage.—Julie Whiteley
Saskia Maarleveld delivers a beautiful performance in HESTER, an imagined story of the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s SCARLET LETTER. Immediately after Isobel and Edward Gamble arrive in Salem, Massachusetts, from Scotland, Edward takes off to sea again. Master seamstress Isobel has to be careful—she sees letters as colors—and in 1829 Salem, years after the infamous witch trials, that can still be dangerous. Nat’s attraction to Isobel is instantaneous. Maarleveld provides the necessary electricity, the yearning, the longing, and, of course, the guilt. Maarleveld’s Nat is weak, troubled by his desires; her Isobel is luminous, struggling to maintain her dignity. And the depth of Maarleveld’s secondary characters makes them more than mere background. This well-written, well-researched, and masterfully performed novel provides satisfying listening. S.J.H. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2022, Portland, Maine
2022-08-31
This novel reimagines The Scarlet Letter from the point of view of a woman who might have inspired Hester Prynne.
Isobel Gamble is still a teenager when she emigrates from her native Scotland to Salem, Massachusetts, with her much older husband, Edward. Isobel comes from a long line of women with secret knowledge—her namesake is an ancestor known as Isobel Gowdie, Queen of Witches. But she’s been taught since childhood to mask such knowledge, including her synesthesia, a condition that lets her see colors associated with sounds and letters. She’s bent her energy to her skill at needlework, which has helped her support her family. With Edward, who’s an apothecary, she believed she’d made a good marriage—until they ended up in the poorhouse because of his drug use. Salem is their second chance, but almost as soon as they arrive, he turns around and goes back to sea as a medic, leaving her almost penniless. Isobel gets to work and finds support from some people in the community. She also gets to know a tall and handsome young fellow named Nat Hathorne, a man she saw the day she arrived in town. Isobel is a red-haired beauty, and Nat’s interest in her quickly turns into flirtation and more. The Salem witch trials are more than a century in the past, but Nat, an aspiring poet, is haunted by the role of his great-great-grandfather, John Hathorne, one of the most implacable judges in the trials. The trials haunt this book, too, woven through its story of Isobel, a woman who bears the bigotry of the town because she’s an immigrant and a woman whose husband may have deserted her. The author has incorporated plentiful research about the witch trials and, in Isobel’s present, the Underground Railroad. The rich details of life in Salem in the early 19th century, and especially about Isobel’s creative work as a seamstress and designer, enliven the tale.
Nathaniel Hawthorne plays an unexpected role in this lively fictional look at the origins of his masterpiece.
Product Details
| BN ID: | 2940178752920 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Macmillan Audio |
| Publication date: | 10/04/2022 |
| Edition description: | Unabridged |
| Sales rank: | 333,723 |
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