The Sinners All Bow:
Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne
by Kate Winkler Dawson
This is a recent release by the author, and I saw it available on our libraries recently-acquired list. The author hosts a podcast that I listen to occasionally, and since this book's real victim may have been the inspiration for Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter, I thought I would give it a try.
I'm not loving it. For one thing it turns out I have read two other previous novels based on the event (in addition to The Scarlet Letter which I read ages ago), one of which leaned heavily on the transcripts from the trial of the accused.
Also this author keeps referring to her "co-author." In actuality she's talking about a woman, who two years after the event ( which occurred in 1832) wrote an account of it. For some reason, this annoys me; probably because it was so sincerely and often stated, that I took the time to research why this "co-author's" name was not listed on the cover of this current book.
Anyway, I will give it another chapter or two before deciding if I will finish it or not.
I think I’ll pass on that one based on your review
ReplyDeleteI think I'm going to return it to the library tomorrow.
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