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Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

Historical fiction

Hester

by Laurie Lico Albanese

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Quick Take

You'll never look at the Scarlet A the same after reading this quintessential New England tale of power and desire.

Good to know

  • Illustrated icon, Feminist

    Feminist

  • Illustrated icon, Literary

    Literary

  • Illustrated icon, Based_on_a_Classic

    Based on a classic

  • Illustrated icon, Infidelity

    Infidelity

Synopsis

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, 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.

Why I love it

Are we prisoners of the past, doomed to pay for our ancestors’ sins? Or are we agents of change, blazing a new path forward?

In Hester, Laurie Lico Albanese’s provocative historical novel, societal judgment weighs heavily on independent young women. Lush, sensuous, and wholly original, Hester breathes new life into Hester Prynne, the tragic heroine of The Scarlet Letter, and offers a powerful reimagining of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic story while celebrating the irrepressible female spirit.

In mid-1660s Scotland, Isobel Gowdie, a red-haired woman with sensory gifts, stands accused of dark magic. Two centuries later, her red-haired granddaughter Isobel Gamble, a gifted seamstress, moves to New England, where memories of the witchcraft trials cast a long shadow. Lonely, penniless, and haunted by her ancestry, Isobel must rely on her unique talents to survive while her husband is at sea. Soon, she meets Nat Hathorne, a sensitive writer grappling with his own troubled legacy. Art and ideas draw them together and, over time, they grow closer. But will their mutual desire bring salvation or ruin?

Meticulously researched yet eminently readable, Hester offers a fresh take on the traditional immigrant tale. The lessons Albanese imparts are as timely as they are timeless and provide a fresh feminist lens through which future generations can reconsider the past.

Historical fiction
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Historical fiction
View all
Lady Tan’s Circle of Women
The Love Elixir of Augusta Stern
The Women
The Ballad of Jacquotte Delahaye
The Briar Club
Miss Morgan’s Book Brigade
Spitting Gold
The Singer Sisters
The Great Divide
The Storm We Made
The Disappearance of Astrid Bricard
What We Kept to Ourselves
The River We Remember
The House Is On Fire
Magic Lessons
The People We Keep
The Attic Child
Hester
The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
The Nightingale
The Secret Book of Flora Lea
Did You Hear About Kitty Karr?
Peach Blossom Spring
Hang the Moon
Sisters in Arms
The Postmistress of Paris
Summer of '69
All the Light We Cannot See
The Four Winds
Independence
The Library of Legends
The Night Tiger
Queen of Thieves
Pachinko
The Glittering Hour
The Summer Wives
The Great Alone
The Age of Light
The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo
The Paris Hours
The Golden Hour
Manhattan Beach
The Wonder
The Japanese Lover
The Witches
Saint Mazie
The Marriage of Opposites
Church of Marvels
The Mermaid and Mrs. Hancock
Jacqueline in Paris
Don't Cry for Me
The Christie Affair
Bloomsbury Girls
Bronze Drum