A Utah county attorney says he will not pursue criminal charges against this polygamous family made famous by a reality TV show. A federal judge is set to decide whether to allow a lawsuit to move forward that challenges the constitutionality of Utah's bigamy law. (AP Photo/TLC, Bryant Livingston, File)
For other uses, see Scarlet Letter (disambiguation). The Scarlet Letter: A Romance is an 1850 work of fiction in a historical setting, written by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne. The book is considered to be his masterwork.
Hawthorne then wrote an introduction section titled The Custom House to extend the length of the book and The Scarlet Letter became a full novel (XVI). In addition to financial worries, another influence on the story is Hawthorne's rejection of his ancestors.