📖 “The Scarlet Letter” was published on March 16, 1850, quickly becoming a bestseller. The author, Nathaniel Hawthorne, considered this painting by Hugues Merle (1822–1881) the finest illustration of his novel. Set in a Puritan New England village, the story follows Hester Prynne, a woman condemned to wear the scarlet letter “A” as punishment for […]

“The Scarlet Letter”: a Novel & a Painting