Hester

Hester / Laurie Lico Albanese 
New York : St. Martin's Press, 2022.
322 p.

I picked this up because of the beautiful cover, and because the main character was described as a seamstress and embroiderer. I discovered that it tells the story of Scottish born Isobel, who arrives in New England in the early 1800s with her new husband -- and meets Nathaniel Hawthorne, at that time a young moody writer skulking around town.

Isobel feels a connection to him right away, despite being married to an older man. But her husband goes off on an expedition with the ship's captain who brought them to American, and she is left alone in this new and unfamiliar settlement. Her Scottish heritage and her red hair mark her out as 'lesser than' to the Americans already living there. And she finds that her husband has taken her small savings with him, leaving her literally penniless. She has to turn to the needle to survive, and the descriptions of her embroidered gloves, and eventually more clothing for the women of the settlement, are beautifully done. Her needle is enchanted, stitching images with hidden words and a feeling of power. But this isn't something that will be of much benefit in a place that's suspicious of any inkling of enchantment. 

She is helped by her landlady, an old woman known locally, half-seriously, as a witch. And she's also helped by her nearest neighbour, a free Black woman named Mercy. Both of these long-term residents know that the community is not friendly to unusual women, and they reluctantly help Isobel even when she's headstrong and behaves in questionable ways. 

Isobel, lonely and young, is swayed by Nathaniel Hawthorne's gothic moodiness and obvious attraction to her. They begin an affair, which Isobel thinks is serious even when the reader can tell it isn't, not on his side. He comes across as entitled and petulant, weak willed and selfish, which is a problem when you are using real people as characters in your fiction. I've mentioned my distaste for real people as fictional characters before, and this book just squeaks by for me due to its other strengths. And the fact that I'm not a huge Hawthorne fan, I guess! 

The writing is rich here, particularly when describing Isobel's childhood and Scottish life. The toxic relationship between the two main characters goes on a little too long, and the outcome is easily predictable, sadly. I enjoyed the ending, as Isobel ends up in Canada with a decent man. The book is presented as a possible backstory for The Scarlet Letter, but I can see connections to novels like The Witch of Blackbird Pond or the more contemporary The Sea Captain's Wife, as well. I actually thought it was a pretty good read, compelling writing with some dual timeline backstory on Isobel's witchy ancestor, and a strong thread about slavery's evils with complex characters inhabiting that story alongside Isobel's own.