It’s become an annual tradition to invite the one-and-only Karen Swallow Prior on the show to discuss a classic novel, and this time around it’s Nathaniel Hawthorne’s, The Scarlet Letter. In this first episode of the series, we chatted about that difficult opening section, “The Customs House”; why Karen chose to include this book in her series of annotated classic novels for B&H Publishing (alongside Austen, Hardy, Conrad, Bronte, etc.); ways Hawthorne seems to be working out his connection to his family’s long and fraught history; and much more! Happy listening!Close Reads HQ is a community-supported endeavor. To help ensure that future episodes get produced, please consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. This is a public episode. If you’d like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit closereads.substack.com/subscribe

The Scarlet Letter: Customs House - Chapter 3

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