The Scarlet Letter

Katinka Wolf's voice resonates as if she were reading in a house owned by one of the story's historic characters, with the slightly cavernous echo lending an earthy and homespun feel to the text. The story of how rote religion and religiosity can betray true faith is penned expertly by Hawthorne. It appears less an attack on Christianity than on those who would take the name but not the responsibility. The abridgment is evenhanded and unforced. This is a story that should be heard more than once as its message may elude many contemporary readers. Wolf's meticulous performance helps to infuse the theme into the mind's eye of the listener. S.M.M. (c) AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine


If you last read THE SCARLET LETTER in high school, this production of the classic novel of adultery, repentance, hypocrisy, and the boundaries of Puritan law will remind you why your English teacher assigned it. Hawthorne's ageless story focuses on Hester Prynne, a young wife accused of adultery and forced to wear the scarlet letter "A" on her bosom. Much of this morality tale investigates the interior tensions of characters as complex as any in literature. The novel is given an artful reading by Annie Wauters. Wauters creates a Hester Prynne of enormous heroism. Hester's strength, when surrounded by false piety and righteousness, is humbling. Wauters's smooth, calming voice gives the simpering Dimmesdale and the vengeful Roger Chillingworth more humanity than they deserve. S.J.H. (c) AudioFile 2002, Portland, Maine