The Scarlet Letter is an 1850 romantic work of fiction in a historical setting, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne. It is considered to be his magnum opus. Set in 17th-century Puritan Salem, Massachusetts during the years 1642 to 1649, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an adulterous affair and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout the book, Hawthorne explores themes of legalism, sin, and guilt. Publication history It was long thought that Hawthorne originally planned The Scarlet Letter to be a shorter novelette which was part of a collection to be named Old Time Legends and that his publisher, James Thomas Fields, convinced him to expand the work to a full-length novel. This is not true: Fields persuaded Hawthorne to publish The Scarlet Letter alone (along with the earlier-completed "Custom House" essay) but he had nothing to do with the length of the story. Hawthorne's wife Sophia later challenged Fields' claims a little inexactly: "he has made the absurd boast that he was the sole cause of the Scarlet Letter being published!" She noted that her husband's friend Edwin Percy Whipple, a critic, approached Fields to consider its publication. The manuscript was written at the Peter Edgerley House in Salem, Massachusetts, still standing as a private residence at 14 Mall Street. It was the last Salem home where the Hawthorne family lived. The Scarlet Letter was published as a novel in the spring of 1850 by Ticknor & Fields, beginning Hawthorne's most lucrative period. When he delivered the final pages to Fields in February 1850, Hawthorne said that "some portions of the book are powerfully written" but doubted it would be popular. In fact, the book was an instant best-seller though, over fourteen years, it brought its author only $1,500. Its initial publication brought wide protest from natives of Salem, who did not approve of how Hawthorne had depicted them in his introduction "The Custom-House". A 2,500-copy second edition of The Scarlet Letter included a preface by Hawthorne dated March 30, 1850, that stated he had decided to reprint his introduction "without the change of a word... The only remarkable features of the sketch are its frank and genuine good-humor... As to enmity, or ill-feeling of any kind, personal or political, he utterly disclaims such motives". The Scarlet Letter was also one of the first mass-produced books in America. Into the mid-nineteenth century, bookbinders of home-grown literature typically hand-made their books and sold them in small quantities. The first mechanized printing of The Scarlet Letter, 2,500 volumes, sold out within ten days, and was widely read and discussed to an extent not much experienced in the young country up until that time. Copies of the first edition are often sought by collectors as rare books, and may fetch up to around $18,000 USD.

Jane Austen's classic work of romantic fiction, "Sense and Sensibility", with notable illustrations by Hugh Thomson. The illustrations in this edition have been photographed directly from the original antiquarian book, and digitally cleaned.

In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the suit of a snobbish gentleman, as well as the romantic entanglements of her four sisters.

Product Description: Northanger Abbey tells the story of Catherine Morland, a naive young woman whose perceptions of the world around her are greatly influenced by the romantic gothic novels to which she is addicted. When she moves to Bath she sees mystery and intrigue all around her...read more

Product Description: Oft-copied but never bettered, Jane Austen's Emma is a remarkable comedy of manners. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover...read more

This book was originally published prior to 1923, and represents a reproduction of an important historical work, maintaining the same format as the original work. While some publishers have opted to apply OCR (optical character recognition) technology to the process, we believe this leads to sub-optimal results (frequent typographical errors, strange characters and confusing formatting) and does not adequately preserve the historical character of the original artifact. We believe this work is culturally important in its original archival form. While we strive to adequately clean and digitally enhance the original work, there are occasionally instances where imperfections such as blurred or missing pages, poor pictures or errant marks may have been introduced due to either the quality of the original work or the scanning process itself. Despite these occasional imperfections, we have brought it back into print as part of our ongoing global book preservation commitment, providing customers with access to the best possible historical reprints. We appreciate your understanding of these occasional imperfections, and sincerely hope you enjoy seeing the book in a format as close as possible to that intended by the original publisher.

Product Description: This gorgeous coloring book features sixteen Persuasion illustration pages and fifteen romantic Regency patterns, waiting to be filled with vibrant colors. Perfect for those inbetween hours of relaxation and creativity, these carefully designed coloring pages could very well decorate your walls with your favorite scene from jane Austen's beloved novel...read more

Product Description: From Stonehenge and the Empire State Building to Angkor Wat and the Pyramids, this book surveys every continent to discover the most impressive, exotic, and intriguing manmade wonders of the world Arranged in order of longitude, this spectacular guide to the 50 most breathtaking constructions on the planet reveals the awesome architectural achievements that people have created over the centuries...read more

An account of Hugh Thomson's first wild adventure in Mexico at the age of 18 illustrates why it ignited his love for Latin America, and is then followed by his subsequent exploration 30 years later of the country, its people, and its history. Revealing a much more dangerous side of Mexico than that seen by package vacationers, this book takes the reader from the badlands of Chihuahua to the forests of the Yucatan. It ends deep in the Mexican jungle, face to face with one the most enigmatic and least understood cultures on the planet—the Maya—with a sense of humility at how little we still know about the pre-Columbian past. Similar to The Motorcycle Diaries, by throwing himself on the kindness, hospitality, and mercy of the Mexicans he met (or crashed into), Hugh was given an unusual and peculiarly vulnerable insight into Mexico. He returns many years later with a deeper understanding and the ability to explore the deep roots of pre-Columbian culture within Mexican life and to appreciate how much archaeologists have revealed about the Maya and the Aztecs in just the last few years.

Product Description: Eric (Frederic Moore Searle) Parker (1870- 1955) was a British author and journalist. He was educated at Eton and Merton College. He wrote for the St. James's Gazette and the Spectator. He was the editor of The Field from 1911 until 1932...read more

Product Description: Cranford is a witty portrait of small town life in early-Victorian England. The story unfolds through the eyes of Mary Smith, a young woman who observes the comedic struggles of two middle aged sisters in their efforts to maintain a level of refined dignity amid poverty...read more

Product Description: Jane Austen's classic works of romantic fiction, "Northanger Abbey" and "Persuasion", with notable illustrations by Hugh Thomson. The illustrations in this edition have been photographed directly from the original antiquarian book, and digitally cleaned.

The author was born in England but lived most of her life in Ireland and in her stories, she wrote about the Irish, and portrayed them as they really were. While she never became very well known, she had a substantial influence on Scott, Turgenev and Thackeray.

Product Description: This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of the original. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment for protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature in affordable, high quality, modern editions that are true to the original work...read more