The Scarlet Letter (Broché)

Life in the American colonies is harsh, and made even harder by the strict moral code the Puritans impose on society. Hester Prynne's husband is assumed to have been lost at sea-young, alone and yearning for love. Hester indulges in a moment of passion with consequences at once joyous and devastating. Ostracised and isolated, living on the fringes of society with her new-born daughter, Hester is determined to stick to her own moral code-refusing to reveal the father of her child, working hard for the society that has shunned her and bearing the scarlet letter of the adulterer without complaint.
In Hester Prynne, Nathaniel Hawthorne created a true American heroine, ahead of her time and an inspiration to women even today.