The Scarlet Letter

"The Scarlet Letter published in 1850, is a Gothic American romance novel written by Nathaniel Hawthorne; generally considered to be his masterpiece. Set in Puritan New England (specifically Boston) in the seventeenth century, it tells the story of Hester Prynne, who gives birth after committing adultery, refuses to name the father, and struggles to create a new life of repentance and dignity. Throughout, Hawthorne explores the issues of grace, legalism, and guilt.

The story of The Scarlet Letter is framed by a preface (called "The Custom-House") in which the narrator claims to have found documents and papers that substantiate the evidence concerning Prynne and her situation. The narrator says that when he touched the letter it gave off a "burning heat...as if the letter were not of red cloth, but red hot iron." Historically, Nathaniel Hawthorne worked in the Salem, Massachusetts customhouse for several years, eventually losing his job as a result of an administration change. There is no factual basis for the described in the book, however, and the preface is properly read as a literary device."

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scarlet_Letter