Historical Letters

It was a stormy evening in 1920s London. When newly qualified almoner Alice stepped into the home of Charlotte, a terrified teenager who had just given birth out of wedlock, she did not expect to make a pact that would change her life forever. Thrown into secrecy after an unexpected turn, Alice was determined to keep bewildered Charlotte and her newborn baby safe. But when a threatening note appeared, she realised that Charlotte may need more protection than she first thought. But from whom?

These letters were arranged in two volumes by Albert Bigelow Paine, Samuel L. Clemens's literary executor, as a supplement to Mark Twain, A Biography, which Paine wrote. They are, for the most part, every letter written by Clemens known to exist at the time of their publication in 1917. They begin with a fragment of a letter from teenaged Sam Clemens to his sister, Pamela, and conclude with a letter to his attorney two weeks before his death. These letters give us some degree of insight into the evolution of Twain's style of speech and prose over the period of his lifetime.

"England, 1940. Dearest Ruby, you must have heard the news by now. The very worst has happened. Our countries are at war. What can I do? How can I stop this nightmare from happening? One day soon we’ll be together again. I swear. I love you. E. x". Ruby Summers is a tapestry of memories, her ninety-six years laced with both love and loss. The echoes of a wartime Norfolk summer, where young Ruby's heart entwined with Edmondo's under orchard skies, are as vivid as ever. Yet a single, haunting secret - born from a love tested by war and a betrayal that shattered her - remains locked within her.

Berlin, 1943. As the Allied forces edge closer, the Third Reich tightens its grip on its people. For 18-year-old Susanna Göttmann, this means her adopted family including the man she loves, Leo, are at risk. Desperate to protect her loved ones any way she can, Susie accepts the help of an influential Nazi officer. But it comes at a terrible cost - she must abandon any hope of a future with Leo and enter the frightening world of the Nazi elite.

In the wake of a murder in 1950's Puerto Rico, nationalists revolt against American colonialism. An amnesiac recluse, married to a man she does not love, Arabella finds solace in the only remaining book in her possession. One of the many banned by Puerto Rico's Gag Law. The mysterious novel entitled The Last Love Letter by one Aurelio Valentino leads Arabella on a journey with the main character in search of his lost love.

Letters from Erastus: Field Notes on Grace is a hybrid memoir woven around 22 extraordinary letters written by abolitionist Erastus Hopkins to his daughters in the 1850s and 60s in Northampton, Massachusetts. The letters reveal an unexpected sensitivity and attempt to provide firm but gentle guidance to a family coping with years of domestic tragedy.

Robert enjoys his life in Japan, but the dark tides of war are rising, and it won't be long before foreigners are forced to leave Japan. Torn from the people he has come to think of as family, he stays in contact by exchanging letters with Makiko, letters that soon show their relationship is blossoming into something much more than friendship. The outbreak of total war sweeps all before it, and when correspondence ends with no explanation, Robert fears the worst. He will do anything to find Makiko, even launch himself headfirst into a conflict that is consuming the world.

The story opens in Puritan Boston, a settlement only fifteen or twenty years old. A young woman stands on a scaffold clasping a three-month-old baby. As a married woman with a missing husband and a new baby, Hester Prynne could have been sentenced to death for the crime of adultery. Instead she is condemned to always wear the letter A as a badge of her shame. As she stands there, she sees her long-missing husband, who has been held captive by Indians.

Rose Pepper has kept her wartime past a secret for decades. Forty years ago, she fled communist Prague and left behind the love of her life. Now in her sixties and with two daughters, Rose discovers a bundle of unopened letters sent to her by her lost love. Confronted with the possibility of facing up to her past, she decides it’s finally time to go back to where her story began and uncover the truth that has been buried for so long…

Duik in de meeslepende wereld van Nathaniel Hawthorne's "De scharlaken letter." Deze tijdloze klassieker speelt zich af in het puriteinse Nieuw-Engeland en onderzoekt thema's als zonde, schuld en verlossing. Het verhaal volgt Hester Prynne, een vrouw die gebrandmerkt is met de scharlaken letter "A" van overspel, terwijl ze de complexiteiten van maatschappelijk oordeel en persoonlijke verlossing doorstaat. Hawthorne's prachtige proza en rijke symboliek brengen de personages tot leven en onderzoeken de menselijke conditie met diepgaand inzicht.

Set in an early New England colony, the novel shows the terrible impact a single, passionate act has on the lives of three members of the community: the fiery, tortured Reverend Dimmesdale; the obsessed, vengeful Chillingworth; and the defiant Hester Prynne, who, unwilling to name her partner in adultery, is condemned to wear a scarlet "A" on the breast of her gown for the remainder of her life.

Eight-year-old Casey’s mother, Ruth, is a cruel woman with a weakness for other women’s husbands. Casey’s father is gentle and hard-working and, though Tom Denton has long suspected his wife of having sordid affairs, he has chosen to turn a blind eye to keep the peace. But then Tom’s world is completely shattered when he receives two bits of devastating news. Because of this, Tom realises that from now on their lives must change, forever. A broken man, Tom is made to fight for his son, determined to keep him safe.

The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is a masterpiece of historical fiction set in the Puritan Massachusetts Bay Colony from 1642 to 1649. Exploring themes of legalism, sin, and guilt, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who conceives a child out of wedlock and then struggles to create a new life of dignity. The Scarlet Letter was one of the earliest mass-produced books in America and a best seller. It is still highly regarded in literary circles.

Mary is a naive 20-year-old in 1945 when her high school sweetheart, Jack, returns to their small Indiana steel town wounded from World War II and makes her his bride. While Jack struggles to find his place in the world, Mary begins her own journey of self-discovery. As the years and letters unfold, Mary and Jack have five children, including their first-born son, Junior, who is not “right", an issue that contributes to the turmoil in their marriage and impacts their lives in unforeseen ways.

When Martha’s beloved father dies, he leaves her two things: a mysterious stash of letters to an English woman named "Catkins" and directions to a beach hut in the English seaside town of Wells-Next-the-Sea. Martha is at a painful crossroads in her own life and seizes this chance for a trip to England - to discover more about her family’s past and the identity of her father’s secret correspondent.

Hester Prynne commits adultery in a Puritan settlement and, as a result, is "branded" for the rest of her life by having to wear a scarlet letter "A" on her breast. Throughout the story, a complex relationship develops between Hester, her lover, her husband, and her daughter.

The Scarlet Letter, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, magnum opus, tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth two years after separation from her husband and is condemned to wear the scarlet letter A on her breast as punishment for her adultery. She resists all attempts of the 17th century Boston clergy to make her reveal the name of her child’s father while she struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity.

The Scarlet Letter, written by Nathaniel Hawthorne, is considered to be one of the greatest examples of true American literature. Its excellency of topic, characterization, and description has made it a permanent part of our history. Set in Salem, Massachusetts in the 1600s, it describes the life of Hester Prynne, a Puritan woman whose existence is marred by sin. The real genius of the book is found in its description.

Portofino, Italy, 1943. A young woman steps off a boat in a scenic coastal village. Although she knows how to disappear in a crowd, Elodie is too terrified to slip by the German officers while carrying her poorly forged identity papers. She is frozen until a man she's never met before claims to know her. In desperate need of shelter, Elodie follows him back to his home on the cliffs of Portofino.

It is 1642 in the Puritan town of Boston. Hester Prynne has been found guilty of adultery and has born an illegitimate child. In lieu of being put to death, she is condemned to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her dress as a reminder of her shameful act.