Reviews

"Echoes of Hawthorne abound in vivid scenes and authentic language in this masterfully re-imagined tale, not a retelling but an alternative telling that sweeps one along beyond the point Hawthorne chose to stop and embroiders new characters on the fabric of time. A captivating achievement that teases recollection and delights fancy."-- Susan Vreeland, Girl in Hyacinth Blue "It is 1649 Boston in Noyes's debut novel, which overlaps with the end of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne's daughter Pearl is now a fiery wood sprite, reveling in her mother's guarded love even as she rebels against the ever-present shameful, fading red A pinned to Hester's bodice. Pearl, bright, funny, and given to impatient rages, befriends and enchants the isolated, blind Simon, son of a seaman; however, it is Simon's much older brother, Nehemiah, who marries Pearl when she is barely out of her teens and sets into motion a tragic romantic triangle of enormous consequence. As Noyes takes readers beyond the end of Hawthorne's tale and into Pearl's adulthood, the tragedies and mistakes of the past are reconstituted and feed on one another both in Boston and across the ocean. In language nearly as beautiful and powerful as Hawthorne's, Noyes tackles passion and Puritanism in a riveting historical tale with timeless overtones. Strongly recommended." --LIBRARY JOURNAL -- STARRED REVIEW "With quietly savage prose, Deborah Noyes takes Pearl to adulthood, marriage, motherhood. We experience her life in America and England, the blossoming of love, and the heartbreak borne of passion and loss. Readers smell the sea, the bite of chill air, and live the very heartbeats of each character. This book is a literary classic and highly recommended."--Midwest Book Review

It is 1649 Boston in Noyes's debut novel, which overlaps with the end of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. Hester Prynne's daughter Pearl is now a fiery wood sprite, reveling in her mother's guarded love even as she rebels against the ever-present shameful, fading red A pinned to Hester's bodice. Pearl, bright, funny, and given to impatient rages, befriends and enchants the isolated, blind Simon, son of a seaman; however, it is Simon's much older brother, Nehemiah, who marries Pearl when she is barely out of her teens and sets into motion a tragic romantic triangle of enormous consequence. As Noyes takes readers beyond the end of Hawthorne's tale and into Pearl's adulthood, the tragedies and mistakes of the past are reconstituted and feed on one another both in Boston and across the ocean. In language nearly as beautiful and powerful as Hawthorne's, Noyes tackles passion and Puritanism in a riveting historical tale with timeless overtones. Strongly recommended.-Beth E. Andersen, Ann Arbor Dist. Lib., MI Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.