Hester Prynne is a young wife who has sinned in the eyes of her society. In the rigid moral climate of 17th-century New England, she endures a harsh punishment. Hester has to draw on her inner strength of spirit. She is one of the finest heroines of American fiction. This American classic is a troubling story of crime, sin, guilt and punishment.

Penguin Readers is a series of simplified novels, film novelizations and original titles that introduce students at all levels to the pleasures of reading in English. Originally designed for teaching English as a foreign language, the series' combination of high interest level and low reading age makes it suitable for both English-speaking teenagers with limited reading skills and students of English as a second language. Many titles in the series also provide access to the pre-20th century literature strands of the National Curriculum English Orders.