about the book
In 1642 in the Puritan town of Boston, acts considered sinful are severely punished. Hester Pynne has given birth to a daughter, Pearl, and since her husband was reported lost at sea two years before, it is obvious that she has had an affair. For committing adultery, she is thrown into prison, tried, and sentenced to public humiliation. She must stand on a scaffold to be ridiculed, and then for the rest of her life must wear a patch bearing a scarlet letter A on her bodice. She meets all demands to reveal her lover with silence.
Many in the crowd are angered by her refusal to name the man who fathered her child. One of these is a small misshapen man, Hester’s returned husband. Once she is back in her cell, he demands that she not reveal him and vows he will find and punish her lover. He hides his true identity using the name Roger Chillingworth and takes his place in the community as the new physician. In the years that follow, he psychologically tortures her, becoming more and more obsessed.
Released from prison, Hester takes her daughter and makes a home for them both in a cottage on the edge of town. She makes the scarlet patch she is forced to wear and it is beautifully done. Though she is mocked and jeered daily, she lives a quiet, somber life, supporting herself with her needlework. Still, life is not easy. The taunting and cruelty continues and even little Pearl is stoned by the other children.
Over time, Roger becomes convinced that the man Hester is protecting is Arthur Dimmesdale, the minister. Wracked by guilt, Arthur becomes sicker and sicker. The town sees his failing health and sends the new physician to stay with him. Mad with revenge, Roger plays mind games pressuring the minister to admit his adultery. One night, as the minister tosses in his sleep, Roger sees a symbol of shame on Arthur’s pale chest.
What will happen to Pearl, the child conceived in sin; to Hester, a woman who lives in shame; to Roger, a man determined to get revenge; and to Arthur, a man consumed with guilt?
about the author
Born in Salem, Massachusetts, in 1804, Nathaniel Hawthorne is known for his historical novels about American colonial life. After publishing The Scarlet Letter in 1850, this instant bestseller allowed him to earn a living as a novelist. Full of psychological complexity, dark romance, allegory, and symbolism, his work is considered a classic and is still used in classrooms today. He is one of the most distinguished American writers of the nineteenth century.
Nathaniel’s life is steeped in the Puritan legacy. His ancestor William Hathorne was a Salem judge known for his harsh sentencing. His son John was one of the three judges at the Salem witch trials. Nathaniel added the W to his name to distance himself from that side of his family.
After his father, a sea captain, died when Nathaniel was four, his mother Elizabeth was left nearly penniless and moved in with her brothers. Bedridden for months after a leg injury, Nathaniel became a voracious reader and a future writer. With his uncle’s financial help, he was able to attend Bowdoin College where he befriended Henry Wadsworth Longfellow and future president Franklin Pierce.
He missed his mother and two sisters greatly and, after graduation, returned home. For twelve years he worked for the Boston Custom House weighing salt and coal and writing short stories. After meeting Sophia Peabody, he moved to the Brook Farm community, and they were married on July 9, 1842. While there, they met Ralph Waldo Emerson and Henry David Thoreau. After the family moved to Salem, Nathaniel worked as a surveyor and wrote The Scarlet Letter, which was mass printed and made Nathaniel famous.
Always uncomfortable in Salem, he moved his family to Lenox where he became close friends with Herman Melville. This was the most productive time in Nathaniel’s writing career. When his friend Franklin Pierce was elected President, he appointed Nathaniel as American Consul to Britain. Travelling to Italy after his service, Nathaniel completed his final novel.
When the family returned to America, it quickly became evident that his health and mental acuity was failing quickly. Nathaniel died in his sleep on May 19, 1864 in Plymouth.
Source:
Author biography: Bio.
about the adapter
Growing up in the cornfields near Oshkosh, Wisconsin, Crystal S. Chan had a hard time finding her place in the world. She is mixed race-of Polish and Hong Kong descent—and she could find no stories reflecting her own experiences, challenges, and joys
At writing conferences, the speakers always tell attendees to write the book they would have enjoyed reading as a child, and that is what Crystal did. Bird, her debut novel, was all about diversity. She is really interest in getting different kinds of stories out there. Perhaps that is why her next efforts were manga adaptations of the classics Great Expectations by Charles Dickens, Emma by Jane Austin, and The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne.
Crystal can often be found biking along Lake Michigan. She makes Chicago her home and lives right across from the lake, a place where she quiets her mind and finds creative ideas for her next writing projects. Besides writing books, she also writes magazine articles. She doesn’t own a television or have internet in her home. Her day job at a retreat and conference center for non-profits gives her the flexibility to do her research there. Her goal is to write 500 words a day.
Besides writing, her passions include public speaking, performing, and a turtle. She gives workshops and is a professional story teller entertaining both children and adults. Crystal is also a regular contributor to Wisconsin Public Radio. The turtle? Well that is Jia-you, a fifteen-year-old red-eared slider. Most people just call her Juanita because her oriental name is far too hard to pronounce!
If you write Crystal a letter in cursive, she will write you back!
Sources:
Author website
Author interview: CBC Diversity
Author interview: Mandy Marksteiner
Also by Crystal S. Chan:
Emma (Manga Classics) by Jane Austen, Udon Entertainment, 2015.
Great Expectations (Manga Classics) by Charles Dickens, Udon Entertainment, 2015.
about the illustrator
SunNeko Lee is an alias. The real illustrator picked this name because she loves the warmth of the sun and the elegance of cats (Neko is the Japanese word for cat.) Actually she is obsessed with cats…and also glasses and anything to do with maid culture (something that is very popular in Japan right now. Did you know you can go to a café there and a maid will serve you? Graphic novels about maids are also very popular.)
SunNeko started out as a comic strip artist for a magazine and a story board artist. She is now an animator and comic illustrator.
SunNeko’s illustration style in the Manga classic, The Scarlet Letter, is clean and bold. Within the covers, the work is all done in black and white, except for the scarlet A, which sets the tone for the story. Subtle shading helps evoke the disapproval in the villager’s faces, and all the characters are full of easily interpreted emotions. This is especially true as Chillingworth evolves from crafty to judgmental. SunNeko’s details are spot on, especially the Puritan clothing.
It will be intriguing to learn more about this talented artist as she tackles more manga classics in the future!
Sources:
Illustrator biography: DeviantArt
The Scarlet Letter (Manga Classics)
Also Illustrated by SunNeko Lee
Emma (Manga Classics) by Jane Austen. Udon Entertainment. 2015.
Great Expectations (Manga Classics) by Charles Dickens. Udon Entertainment. 2015.
read more!
Great Expectations (Manga Classics) by Charles Dickens (adapted by Crystal S. Chan)
Orphaned Pip, raised by his harsh sister and her kind husband, encounters hints of finer things when he is brought to visit the bitter and twisted Miss Havisham and her ward, the beautiful but imperious Estella. Shamed by his humble beginnings, he eagerly tries to make something of himself when a mysterious benefactor offers him help. Along the way, he grows to realize what is truly important in life.
Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter : The Manga Edition by Nathaniel Hawthorne
This manga adaptation tells the tale of a woman publically shamed. A child forced to live as an outcast. A minister tormented and ravaged by guilt. A sly physician bent on vengeance and perverse justice. And a tragic indiscretion that becomes the symbol of secrecy and sin, redemption and repentance, and dignity and triumph. Features black and white illustrations and simplified language.