Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese

Named a Most Anticipated Book for Fall by Goodreads o Washington
Post o New York Post o BuzzFeed o PopSugar o Business Insider o An
October Indie Next List Pick o An October LibraryReads Pick
A hauntingly beautiful - and imagined - orign story to The Scarlet
Letter ." - People
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

Laurie Lico Albanese has published fiction, poetry, journalism, travel writing,
creative nonfiction, and memoir. Her books include Stolen Beauty, Blue
Suburbia: Almost a Memoir, Lynelle by the Sea, and The Miracles of Prato,
co-written with art historian Laura Morowitz. Laurie is married to a publishing
executive and is the mother of two children.

St. Martin's Press
On Sale: Oct 3/23
5.38 x 8.25 • 352 pages
9781250825162 • $25.00 • pb
Fiction / Historical