A magnificently crafted 19th-century drama shimmering with enchantments, Hester by Laurie Lico Albanese takes root around an irresistible premise: it imagines the romance between beautiful, talented Scottish needleworker Isobel Gamble and Nathanial Hawthorne as the inspiration for The Scarlet Letter.
In early 1829, 19-year-old Isobel and her apothecary husband, Edward, leave Scotland under a cloud of financial scandal. They cross the Atlantic on a ship bound for Salem, Mass. Isobel hopes to open her own dressmaking shop and become financially independent from her thieving, opium-addicted husband (who soon departs Salem on another ship). She meets Nat, a tall, caped man in his mid-20s with a limp, who's struggling to make a name for himself as a writer.
Albanese incorporates historical figures who contributed to the town's vibrant African American population, including John and Nancy Remond, who created a legacy of hospitality and social activism. She also captures the rituals of Salem families: shopping on market day at the wharf, attending church on Sundays. The town's dark past as an epicenter of the 1690s witchcraft trials weigh on Salem's inhabitants, a burden Nat deploys to fuel his writing. Isobel's namesake ancestor was accused of being a witch in 1660s Scotland, and she worries about her own proclivity to magic. Each letter of the alphabet appears to her in a particular hue, with the letter "A" a vibrant scarlet color. An aura of enchantment trails Isobel, from her fiery red hair to the bewitching artistry of her embroidery.
Albanese's (Blue Suburbia: Almost a Memoir; Stolen Beauty) elegant writing captures the dynamic, sensual energy between Isobel and Nat. Nat credits Isobel's very appearance in Salem to his own burning imagination. She discovers in Nat a soulmate. Isobel's raw power flows from her refusal to internalize the shame others attempt to foist upon her. She embraces the ideals of self-determination and courage that propelled Hester Prynne to literary feminist fame. --Shahina Piyarali