ANGEL AND APOSTLE
(Unbridled Books)

A re-imagining of Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter
by Deborah Noyes
A November 2005 Book Sense Pick

Cover image used with publishers’ permission. All rights reserved.

Angel and Apostle is the story of Hester Prynne’s elf child from Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter. At the end of Hawthorne’s classic, we know that Pearl is somewhere in Europe, comfortable, well set, a mother herself. But it could not have been easy for her to arrive at such a place, when she began life as the bastard child of a woman publicly humiliated in an unrelentingly judgmental Puritan world. “I’ve always been obsessed with Pearl,” Deb says. “What would life have been like for the daughter of such a mother… for this little spitfire, swirling in her red dresses among the Puritans? Hawthorne assures us at the end of his classic novel that Pearl will ‘grow up amid human joy and sorrow, nor for ever do battle with the world, but be a woman in it.’ But what sort of woman? What sort of world? Angel and Apostle was my way of trying to find out.”

In my first draft of Angel and Apostle, Part I dutifully followed the plot framework of The Scarlet Letter. Superficially it still does, but at sUome point it dawned on me that the Pearl I wanted to write about little resembled the imp of Hawthorne’s symbolic imaginings (nor could she)...

So this is a historical novel with something of a modern (or in theory at least, timeless) sensibility. It’s a story about love (if not exactly a love story) and about the questions love poses: Can desire and duty coexist? What do we leave behind at the emotional bartering line and why? How do we outlive loss?

The above review is excerpted from the publisher’s website.

REVIEWS

Praise for Angel and Apostle:

“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, author of Girl in Hyacinth Blue

 “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)

“A is for ardent, avid, adoring — and such is Pearl, whose coming-of-age as Hester Prynne’s bastard child is the subject of [this] debut… Noyes engages with atmospheric charms of time and place… and… delivers an ending revelation that would surprise Hawthorne himself.”— Publishers Weekly

“A lyrical debut…. Noyes does a remarkable job of capturing Puritan New England and the spirit and willfulness of Pearl, who is a compelling, sympathetic character in her own right.”— Booklist

“An accomplished novel, stylistically sharp and metaphorically keen… [Noyes’] deft telling provides a thoroughly engaging story with an utterly stunning ending.”— The Chicago Tribune

“The character and plot development are first rate as Noyes captures the true essence of Pearl’s personality, life, and times… 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

“A worthy successor to Hawthorne’s classic, breathing life and sympathy into an enigmatic child.”— CurledUpWithaGoodBook.com

EXCERPTS

Selected by The Pacific Coast Children’s Writers Workshop.

Page 7

My earliest memory is of Mother’s strong hands holding me under water. It’s no proper memory, I know, but my young life’s unrest contained, at last, by her confession...

... “Didn’t you love me even a little?” I asked, shocked but not shocked enough, apparently, to leave it be though I was in my seventh or eighth year at the time... Mother nestled closer under the bedcovers. She stroked my sweaty hair, kissed my brow, and wished all watery nightmares gone. What she did not do was answer my question.

Page 49

Mother settled on her knees with a hard sigh, staring past me at the sea... I walked round and knelt before her. I reached out for the stark red “A” on her dress, which frayed artifact was, even in my earliest memories, like a ripe plum to my eye. Without a word, I placed my pale hand upon it, flat against her heart.

For more information about all of Deborah Noyes’ books, including a sneak peek at her latest, diverse publications, visit her personal website.

To read our exclusive workshop interview with the author, click here.

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