Hester tells the story of Isobel Gamble, a young Scottish seamstress who is extremely talented especially when it comes to embroidery. Isobel and her husband are forced to leave Scotland because of a misstep of her husband, so they set sail for America. Once they arrive in Salem, her husband leaves her penniless when he steals her money and goes off to the Caribbean as a medic on a ship.
Isobel tries to find work, but it seems that the people of Salem are not too keen on foreigners with a Scottish or Irish accent. She manages to find some work embroidering gloves. She catches the eye of Nat Hathorne, a young writer, who is the descendant of one of the witch finders in Salem.
As Isobel’s husband is at sea, she is lonely and she and Nat grow closer and closer.
According to the premise, Isobel is the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. I must admit that though The Scarlet Letter is on my ever growing to read list, I haven’t gotten to it yet. I did enjoy this book and would give it 4 stars.
Read for the ShelfReflection Reading Challenge 2024.
Prompt 38: A book with a character with red hair.
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
