Books like The scarlet letter
Loved The scarlet letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne? Here are 10 books with the same pull, and why each one fits.
About The scarlet letter →8 books
- 1The Heretic's Daughter
The Heretic's Daughter
Kathleen KentSet in Puritan Massachusetts, this harrowing novel explores religious intolerance, village hysteria, and the resilience of a family under moral persecution.
- 2Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Tess of the d'Urbervilles
Thomas HardyLike Hawthorne, Hardy exposes societal hypocrisy and cruelty toward a "fallen" woman condemned by rigid moral standards for an illicit transgression.
- 3The Minister's Wooing
The Minister's Wooing
Harriet Beecher StoweSet in post-Revolutionary New England, this novel confronts the psychological burden of strict Calvinist dogma and secret matters of the heart.
- 4Flight of the Sparrow
Flight of the Sparrow
Amy Belding BrownDepicting Puritan Massachusetts, it follows an outcast woman who chafes against the suffocating religious laws and judgment of her community.
- 5Silas Marner
Silas Marner
George EliotShares Hawthorne's focus on unjust ostracism from a pious community, solitary suffering, and moral redemption found through a child.
- 6The Witch of Blackbird Pond
The Witch of Blackbird Pond
Elizabeth George SpeareEchoes Hawthorne’s colonial Connecticut setting, centering on an independent young woman who faces prejudice and accusations of witchcraft.
- 7In the House in the Dark of the Woods
In the House in the Dark of the Woods
Laird HuntEvokes Hawthorne's eerie New England woods, examining female defiance, puritanical guilt, and the dark boundary between sin and salvation.
- 8Ethan Frome
Ethan Frome
Edith WhartonShares Hawthorne's somber New England atmosphere and the claustrophobic dread of forbidden passion trapped by societal duty.
Want picks just for you? Tell us books you love.
Wrote a book on this list? Get a badge for your site
More book lists
- Spooky books for people who don't read horrorEerie, atmospheric and a little unsettling, but you'll still sleep tonight.20 books
- Gothic novels to read by candlelightCrumbling mansions, family secrets and heroines who should never have opened that door.22 books
- Books like Barbie (movie)Funny, sharp and pink on the outside, with plenty to say underneath.12 books
- Books like Wednesday (TV series)Gothic boarding schools, dark wit and mysteries with a supernatural twist.12 books
