The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Familiar to school children everywhere thanks to its popularity on curriculums, The Scarlet Letter uses symbolism to explore issues including sin, atonement and how appearances can be misleading. Set in the strict Puritan world of 1640s Boston, it follows the tribulations of Hester Prynne, a woman who is ostracised from society and forced to wear a scarlet A (for adulterer) as punishment for committing adultery, while her partner in crime, who is a major figurehead in this society, atones for his sin in private as she refuses to unmask him.