The Scarlet Letter is a romantic novel set in 17th-century Puritan Boston. It is the story of Hester Prynne, an adulteress who struggles to create a new life of dignity and repentance. She is forced to wear a red 'A' on her chest as a sign of her sinful act. The Scarlet Letter is considered one of the fundamental - if not the greatest - works of American literature. For all of its distinction however, the Scarlet Letter is a novel - as far as action goes - in which next to nothing happens. The n