VB Reads...Motherhood By the Book

Motherhood by the Book is led by Claire, VB staffer, mother, and grandmother.

The book group meets on the second Sunday of every month at 2pm in the Readings Gallery at Village Books, for an hour of spirited discussion of books that celebrate the trials, tribulations, and rewards of motherhood, and what it means to be a mother. This group is by no means exclusive to moms with kids still at home. We read fiction and non-fiction, older and newer titles, all with the theme of Motherhood. Join us!

Sunday, December 11, 2pm  

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s masterpiece, an iconic fable of guilt and redemption set in Puritan Massachusetts, has long been considered one of the greatest American novels.

A stark tale of adultery, guilt, and social repression in Puritan New England, The Scarlet Letter is a foundational work of American literature. Nathaniel Hawthorne’s exploration of the dichotomy between the public and private self, internal passion and external convention, gives us the unforgettable Hester Prynne, who discovers strength in the face of ostracism and emerges as a heroine ahead of her time. As Kathryn Harrison points out in her Introduction, Hester is “the herald of the modern heroine.”

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (1804–1864), born in Salem, Massachusetts, is the author of The House of the Seven Gables, Mosses from an Old Manse, The Blithedale Romance, and The Marble Faun, among others. His many famous short stories include "Young Goodman Brown," "Rappaccini’s Daughter," and "The Artist of the Beautiful."