This Norton Critical Edition of Nathaniel Hawthornes most widely read novel appears during the bicentennial anniversary year of his birth. The text of The Scarlet Letter is based on the 1850 third edition, the first set in stereotype plates and the basis of subsequent printings in Hawthornes lifetime. An invaluable selection of contextual material includes five Hawthorne stories that are closely related to The Scarlet Letter, along with relevant letters and notebook entries. A substantial excerpt from Hawthornes campaign biography of Franklin Pierce offers a revealing glimpse at Hawthornes political thought, especially regarding slavery and abolition. Criticism provides a comprehensive overview of early and modern commentary on The Scarlet Letter and the stories in this edition, including nineteenth-century reviews of the novel and critical essays by Robert S. Levine, Nina Baym, Larry J. Reynolds, and Jean Fagan Yellin. A Chronology and Selected Bibliography are also included.