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The Scarlet Letter
by Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Used
- Hardcover
- Condition
- Very Good with no dust jacket
- Seller
-
Williamsville, New York, United States
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
Cleveland: Fine Editions Press. Very Good with no dust jacket. 1946. Hardcover. The spine is sunned, but gilt lettering is strong and attractive. Nick at center of rear hinge. Wear and small spot to the edge of the spine head. 3/8" stray red ink mark at the head corner and tiny bump to the tail corner of the front cover. Slight offsetting to front endpaper. ; This classic work of American literature recounts the life of Hester Prynne in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony in the 1600s. Hester and a lover she refuses to name conceive a daughter, without being married, and Hester winds her way through a story of sin, guilt, societal recrimination, dignity, and redemption while raising her daughter Pearl. The scarlet letter is the letter "A,", in red, that she is forced to wear to brand her as an adulterer. One of the first mass-produced books in the United States, it remains a powerful statement about society, religion, and dignity. With an insightful Introduction of the work by author, critic, biographer, and Pulitzer Prize winner Carl Van Doren. Illustrated by Nell Booker, with 23 monochrome plates of exaggerated and fanciful characters surrounded by her unique, stippled surfaces and backgrounds. Printed in serif font on light cream, laid paper with the text block trimmed on all edges. Bound in maroon, quarter leather with light brown cloth over boards. If you're going to read a work of classic literature, get a leather and cloth-bound edition on fine paper like this one. Very Good condition and a clean and attractive copy.; B&W Illustrations; 8vo 8" - 9" tall; 5-254 pages .
Synopsis
The Scarlet Letter: A Romance (1850) is considered the American author Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'masterwork.' A work of historical fiction set in the Massachusetts Bay Colony during the Puritan settlement of 1642-1949 itells the story of Hester Prynne, who after having a child as a result of an extra-marital affair attempts to live a life of repentance and dignity although she is marked by having to wear a Scarlett A on her person. Throughout the novel, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. The Scarlett Letter was one of the first mass-produced novels in the United States, prior printing of books generally done by hand. The 2,500 copies first printed sold out in days, and the mass-production of books opened up conversation about books and authors to a wider-audience on a national level. The first edition of The Scarlet Letter sold out in ten days and “made Hawthorne’s fame, changed his fortune and gave to our literature its first symbolic novel a year before the appearance of Melville’s Moby-Dick” (Bradley). Although an instant best-seller, the books sales over fourteen years only brought the author $1500.
Reviews
On Oct 4 2010, Erhanilhan said:
An absolute criticism of Puritan society. Hawthorne portrays the hypocritic sides of the society by pointing its discrepancies and ill-interpreted biblical sides deeds. He also shows that the society was not working in the name of god as stated; instead worked for a group of people (especially powerful) that keep the lines in hand.
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Details
- Bookseller
- 20 Ants Fine Books, IOBA
(US)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 1042
- Title
- The Scarlet Letter
- Author
- Hawthorne, Nathaniel
- Illustrator
- Nell Booker
- Format/Binding
- Hardcover
- Book Condition
- Used - Very Good with no dust jacket
- Publisher
- Fine Editions Press
- Place of Publication
- Cleveland
- Date Published
- 1946
- Weight
- 0.00 lbs
- Keywords
- Fiction, Classic Literature, Historical Fiction, Illustrated Books
- Bookseller catalogs
- Fiction; Literature; Historical Fiction; Classic Literature;
Terms of Sale
20 Ants Fine Books, IOBA
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All items subject to prior sale. We prefer to conduct all transactions through Biblio's system. Biblio may charge sales tax that is applicable to your state or locale. Shipping by USPS is preferred and shipping by FedEx and UPS is available. Heavier items may incur an additional shipping charge. Items valued at $100 and above are shipped Signature Required.
International shipping is available to most countries and the buyer is responsible for all duties, tariffs, taxes, or fees charged by the receiving country or shipping carrier. When practical, we ship USPS to international customers so that they do not incur the brokerage fees of other carriers. We state the correct type and value of the item(s) for customs purposes.
We will refund the item's price and shipping fees both ways if an item was misdescribed . For other returns we will refund the item's price, only. Any returned item must be the specific item originally shipped to you, in the same condition as originally shipped, insured for the full original value, and securely packed to ensure damage-free delivery to us.
About the Seller
20 Ants Fine Books, IOBA
Biblio member since 2020
Williamsville, New York
About 20 Ants Fine Books, IOBA
20 Ants Fine Books offers fine press, small press, limited editions, literature, and eclectic categories that strike our fancy. Serving readers, collectors, and institutions since 1998.
Glossary
Some terminology that may be used in this description includes:
- Fine
- A book in fine condition exhibits no flaws. A fine condition book closely approaches As New condition, but may lack the...
- Gilt
- The decorative application of gold or gold coloring to a portion of a book on the spine, edges of the text block, or an inlay in...
- Tail
- The heel of the spine.
- Text Block
- Most simply the inside pages of a book. More precisely, the block of paper formed by the cut and stacked pages of a book....
- Cloth
- "Cloth-bound" generally refers to a hardcover book with cloth covering the outside of the book covers. The cloth is stretched...
- Hinge
- The portion of the book closest to the spine that allows the book to be opened and closed.
- Edges
- The collective of the top, fore and bottom edges of the text block of the book, being that part of the edges of the pages of a...
- Sunned
- Damage done to a book cover or dust jacket caused by exposure to direct sunlight. Very strong fluorescent light can cause slight...
- Jacket
- Sometimes used as another term for dust jacket, a protective and often decorative wrapper, usually made of paper which wraps...
- Spine
- The outer portion of a book which covers the actual binding. The spine usually faces outward when a book is placed on a shelf....
This Book’s Categories
- Fiction & Literature Fiction by Region American Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Classic Literature
- Fiction & Literature Historical Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Literary Studies Literary Criticism
- Fiction & Literature Modern Fiction
- Fiction & Literature Mystery & Thrillers Mystery
- Fiction & Literature World Literature
- Children & Juvenile Juvenile & Young Adult Juvenile Fiction & Literature
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