One of the most influential novels in all American literature, The Scarlet Letter is the captivating story of a Puritan woman who conceives a child through an affair and her subsequent struggle to overcome sin, shame, and social stigma. Edited by Justine S. Murison (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign), the Norton Library edition features the text of the third (1850) edition of the novel, with explanatory endnotes and an introduction that thoroughly situates the work in its historical and literary contexts.