The Scarlet Letter (Adaptation)

Oxford Bookworms Library

By: Nathaniel Hawthorne, Jennifer Bassett - adaptation

Narrated by: Oliver Wyman

Scarlet is the colour of sin, and the letter ’A’ stands for ’Adultery’. In the 1600s, in Boston, Massachusetts, love was allowed only between a husband and a wife. A child born outside marriage was a child of sin. Hester Prynne must wear the scarlet letter on her dress for the rest of her life. How can she ever escape from this public shame? What will happen to her child, growing up in the shadow of the scarlet letter? The future holds no joy for Hester Prynne. And what will happen to her sinful lover - the father of her child? An Oxford Bookworms Library reader for learners of English, adapted from the Nathaniel Hawthorne original by John Escott.

©2002 Oxford University Press (P)2008 Oxford University Press

Critic reviews

"The most consistent of all series in terms of language control, length, and quality of storytelling." (David R Hill, ELT Journal Review)

Ug. Adaption.

Any additional comments?

I missed the word 'adaption'... I guess it works as an alternate word for 'abridged' without as much stigma attached to it. Doesn't make it any less frustrating.

I'll be the first to admit that the Scarlet Letter runs longer than it needs to, and could use a number of cuts to make a cleaner story. That said, if you wanted a boiled down version of the Scarlet Letter, there's already a wide selection of movie adaptations you could watch. You shouldn't need to hack the book to pieces as well.