HESTER

by Laurie Lico Albanese

Recommended by the owner of my favorite independent bookstore in Kennebunkport, Maine (Fine Print Books), I wasn’t sure what to expect from Hester.  I knew it was set in Salem, Massachusetts and had something to do with witches and Nathaniel Hawthorne and The Scarlet Letter.  But that’s about it.  So, I was thrilled to discover that this is an absolute jewel of a novel!

Albanese sets Hester in the early 1800s, and newlywed Isobel Gamble has just arrived in Salem by ship from Scotland with her husband, Edward. An apothecary fleeing mountains of debt and an opium habit, Edward promises Isobel a new life in the New World.  But, no sooner have they arrived, when he signs on as medic to a trading ship and leaves Isobel in Salem to fend for herself.  A gifted seamstress by trade, and fortified by generations of her family’s secrets, Isobel sets up a life in Salem.  Shunned by co-workers at her sewing job because of her Scottish accent, she still becomes known among Salem’s elite for her exquisite stitchery.  Isobel meets and is intrigued by a struggling Nathaniel Hawthorne. He is experiencing his own problems: unrealistic expectations from family and Salem society, guilt over his ancestors’ role in the Salem witch trials and a total lack of ideas for his writing.

At about the time that Edward’s ship returns to Salem with no sign of him on it, Isobel and Nathaniel’s relationship has really heated up. There are several substories within Hester, not only about witches, but also about Black Americans and some of the secrets that helped them to survive. I adored this book so much that when I finished, I immediately reread The Scarlet Letter.  That was such a joy to read as an adult!  Whether you’re familiar with The Scarlet Letter, or not, Hester will pull you in and keep you turning pages until you reach the end. (Liz)