Angel and Apostle

by Deborah Noyes

At the end of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s classic novel, The Scarlet Letter, we know that Pearl, the elf-child daughter of Hester Prynne, is somewhere in Europe, comfortable, well set, a mother herself now. But it could not have been easy for her to arrive at such a place, when she begins life as the bastard child of a woman publicly humiliated, again and again, in an unrelentingly judgmental Puritan world.

With a brilliant and authentic sense of that time and place, Deborah Noyes envisions the path Pearl takes to make herself whole and to carve her place in the New World. Beautifully written with boundless compassion, Angel and Apostle is a heart-rending and imaginative debut in which Noyes masterfully makes Hawthorne’s character her own.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Book Club, American

304 pages, Hardcover

First published October 1, 2006

About the author

Deb writes for adults and children and is also an editor and photographer. She lives in Massachusetts with her family.

Reviews

[Corinne Edwards · Rating 3 out of 5]

In Angel and Apostle we find two things: first, the story of the Scarlet Letter from a different point of view, that of Pearl, the fruit of Scarlet's "sin." Second, Noyes takes the story further, fleshing out the sketched end of the book and introducing us to Pearl's life as an adult.

Pearl is reckless. She is stubborn and impish and not quite of this world. Seeing the Scarlet Letter through her eyes is a strange thing, she seems less purposefully naughty in this tale than in the original - her eyes are for her beloved blind friend and the trees, the mosses and animals. She is, somewhat understandably, a bit of an unloved wanderer - she craves attention but doesn't always like it when she gets it. Her journey from the New World to the Old doesn't solve all of her and her mother's problems, but the dichotomy of the two places is always there in Pearl's heart as she grows up and tries to sort through her heart and make a place for herself.

Having recently read the Scarlet Letter, I feel qualified to say that this prose is about as close to Hawthorne's as it's possible to get: descriptive, eloquent and Noyes captured the period just right. The people, their decisions and fears flowed true to the Scarlet Letter. And, for better or for worse, I felt that same strange feeling like sometimes I was watching the story through frosted glass - as if I wasn't quite getting all that seemed to be taking place because of nuances of language. Truthfully, while the second half kept me engaged and I was eager to read it, I didn't love it. Maybe it's the writing style, but I never felt close to Pearl, I always felt as if she was holding me, and herself, at arm's length and I had a hard time understanding the choices she made. While the later plot in the book mirror's Hawthorne's nicely, it also felt a bit obvious, although an interesting twist from what we assume from the Scarlet Letter. Maybe I wanted more for Pearl? Maybe the theme of adultery is just not something love to read about? Maybe she just landed in the Old World at the wrong time? Maybe she was just born under a cruel star, I don't know - but I did appreciate that in the end, she took charge of herself and her decisions, acknowledging that knowing the truth is one of the most important things.

[Freda Mans-Labianca · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though I liked the book, at times I was lost as well. I think there are faeries and witches, but still at the end am not sure.
The tale of Pearl is a great one, and I did love reading about the things she would do. It seems she was a good girl, but naturally curious, which in those days, made her a bit of a problem. I, at times, loved her Mother. Then she in turn could also be very cruel. It was a relationship I was not happy to read of, though it did make the story more interesting. How the child seems to suffer at the result of the parent, has been a question I have pondered many times. This book asks the same, without actually posing it. For me, it was mildly sensitive in nature.
Overall I liked the book. I don't think it's a bestseller, but interesting, yes!

[Heidi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The writing is beautiful. I was a little distracted while reading, thinking about the different choices I would have made had I chosen to write Pearl's story. I struggled at times, not quite knowing where I was or what, exactly, was happening in the plot. Still, I read through to the end, so clearly the author had done enough to cause me to feel invested in knowing the outcome of her protagonist.

I'm coming back a day later to say that this book affected me more than I realized. The characters stayed with me, I kept thinking about them, feeling moved especially by the character of Simon. And as I read Hawthorne's Twice-Told Tales today, I appreciate all the more Noyes's ability to echo Hawthorne's tone and sensibilities. There are characters in the Tales, especially The Gentle Boy, that remind me of Simon, who feels a bit like he also carries some of Hawthorne's own sensitivity.

[Richard Edgar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a richly imagined life story of Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne, from the Scarlet Letter. Life in what passes as polite society is difficult for her, raised as a wild child, shunned by the Puritans of Boston and yet unable to escape them, even by fleeing to England.

And yet, she carves out a life for herself and her own child. An inspiring, but not in any way pleasant, tale.

[Nancy Noble · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautifully written and evocative - loved it all!

[Laura Hartness · Rating 3 out of 5]

Over the last few years I've become enamored with and entertained by the many Jane Austen sequels, spinoffs and retellings that have flooded the market. When a pseudo-sequel of Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter came my way in the form of Deborah Noyes' Angel and Apostle, I was eager to discover where this story would lead. No, Nathaniel Hawthorne is not Jane Austen, but like Jane he's a beloved 19th Century author who wrote multiple classic works. An expansion on his vision was an intriguing concept to me.

My initial reaction to Deborah's writing was that of enjoyment and admiration. She adeptly captures the flavor of Nathaniel Hawthorne's style, yet without trying to totally mimic it or copy it. Her writing is rich, poetic and is sometimes worth a pause to read again for savoring. This is no Chick-Lit spinoff novel. This is written in the style of literature.

As many spoilers could be given in the summarization of this novel, I'll take care in what details I reveal. Suffice it to say, the entire tale is told from the perspective of Hester Prynne's illegitimate child, Pearl. The story begins near the time period that ends The Scarlet Letter, 1649. At it's conclusion, Pearl is a grown woman with an impish child of her own.

I felt that Noyes' vision of what may have transpired in Pearl's life both during and after the conclusion of Letter was believable. Characters and plot devices continue on paths that are either well-worn or are reasonable to assume. Hester wallows in her shame and self-condemnation, transferring much disdain to Pearl. Men are frequently callous, cruel and self-serving. Hardship and death seem to be around every corner.

While I admire Noyes' writing style and agree with the decisions she made in crafting the story, the book was hard to complete. The plot was frequently dour, and there are few moments of mirth or levity to be found. This may be true to Hawthorne's original work, but I didn't find it enjoyable or enticing. In general I give Noyes high marks, but in the end I was glad to be done with this title and ready for something moderately optimistic.

In the near future I'll be reading another book of this type, Hester by Paula Reed. Both it and A & A will be offered in a Scarlet Letter prize pack giveaway after I post my review on my blog, The Calico Critic. I hope Hester is a more enjoyable experience. Regardless, in the meantime, my next read will be decidedly more lighthearted than Angel & Apostle.

[bibanon1 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received a copy of this book from the publisher.

I always enjoy when a modern author takes up a classic tale and embellishes upon it or adds to it. One of my favorites is WIDE SARGASSO SEA by Jean Rhys. So many of these classic characters are so compelling and so charismatic that it is hard to let them go once the story is over. We yearn to know more. In ANGEL AND APOSTLE, Deborah Noyes gives readers the chance to see what happened after the end of the SCARLET LETTER.

ANGEL AND APOSTLE centers on the life of Hester Prynne's daughter, Pearl. Pearl is as impetuous and impish as she appeared in Hawthorne's tale. She has grown up in the shadow of her mother's scarlet A and its accompanying shame and public scorn. The effects of this state of affairs carry throughout the book. Pearl has no friends so when comes across a young blind boy named Simon and befriends him, it changes her world. When the sinister Dr. Devlin arrives in town and destroys the peace of Pearl and Hester's life, everything changes. The two must travel to England to start a new life. The tale carries through to Pearl's subsequent marriage and adulthood in Europe and how she cannot ever escape the consequences of that scarlet letter.

Noyes has a wonderful writing style that seems to flow seamlessly in a continuation of Hawthorne's work. She does an excellent job imagining Pearl's life and the effects of Hester's choices on that life. I must admit I was very confused by some of the changes and intepretations from SCARLET LETTER. I had to go back and remind myself of the original plot and players. Noyes makes some changes to the story and I'm not sure they were necessary. However, this story is ultimately compelling and interesting. It occurs in a unique time and place in history where religion and supersitition thrived side by side while the world faced such terrors as the plague. A very interesting imagining of this classic tale.


BOTTOM LINE: Recommended. For those who want more from the SCARLET LETTER, Noyes offers a fascinating continuation of the story. While the plot can be a little confusing at times, it is a sad and moving story of how difficult it can be to escape one's past.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angel and Apostle tells the story of Pearl, Hester Prynne's daughter from The Scarlet Letter. I read The Scarlet Letter about 30 years ago and do not really remember the ending, but you do not need to have read (or remember) The Scarlet Letter to enjoy Angel and Apostle.

The book starts when Pearl is but a child, living with her mother. She is just as punished by the villager's and their children as her mother is, because of the scarlet letter that her mother has to wear.

Pearl stumbles upon Simon sitting in his garden one day as she flees through the woods to get away from the village children. She soon learns that Simon is blind and is watched over by Liza, a woman hired by his father to take care of him and his mother. His mother is very ill and soon dies. Simon's father returns from sea with Nehemiah, Simon's brother and they make plans to return to England. Nehemiah grudgingly accepts Pearl as he sees how much her friendship with Simon means to both of them. This friendship will over shadow many of the choices Pearl makes in her life and will ultimately effect the path she takes.

When the minister dies who had shielded Hester and daughter through the years, Hester becomes distraught. This just fuels the rumors that he is Pearl's father. Hester is once again put in the stocks. It is here that Pearl discovers who her real father is as she overhears him talking to her mother.

Hester is convinced to leave America and so her and Pearl get passage on Simon's father's ship. In England, Pearl grows up, marries, and tries to make a life for herself apart from her mother. I believe that part of her was still shadowed by her mother's scarlet letter and the shame she felt as a child. I am not going to tell you much about her life in England, as I don't want to give any spoilers, so you will need to read the book!

I loved Pearl's voice in this story. It really gave you a sense of the time period and made you feel as if you were there. I will say that I am not sure that I cared for the ending. It felt very abrupt, but it does leave the door somewhat open for a sequel. . . I very much liked the tone of the book though and am looking forward to reading more by Deborah Noyes.

[Elevate Difference · Rating 5 out of 5]

Deborah Noyes’s Angel and Apostle, styled as a sequel to The Scarlet Letter, is a fascinating journey and an interesting effort to flesh out the life of a child attempting to live under the shadow of shame, guilt, and community exile. Set shortly after the ostracism of Hester Prynne we see the common adage that the “sins of [in this case the mother:] shall be visited upon her children” is a fatalistic axiom that can be made real and that hangs heavy over the heads of Hester and Pearl her precocious and earlier-than-normal world-weary daughter.

Even as the townsfolk lay upon Pearl, the dubious title of “the child of the temptress”, and as much as the other characters of the small New England town would have it otherwise, she appears to lead a life where the consequences of her mother’s supposed social transgression are at the margins of her world. Pearl finds work within house of the sickly mother of a small blind boy, Simon, who she has befriended, and like the child of any time period, sees enthralling mystery and adventure in the countryside. This, for me, is a significant point of the book, the disallowing of the community and previous circumstances through which Pearl, first in New England and then in the “motherland,” seeks her own path and an ultimate sense of individual freedom.

Noyes does a remarkable job of weaving rich depictions of puritanical New England society as the backdrop for the affairs of a strong woman, her bold progeny and the lives of the sordid people that orbit in challenge. Angel and Apostle is a fulfilling next chapter in the darkly romantic or perhaps bittersweet tale of Ms. Prynne and Pearl. Upon finishing every good book, your heart sinks a little at the conclusion of such a wonderful tale but Noyes can rest assured that the humbling task that she assumed in writing a professed sequel to The Scarlet Letter was a riveting success. I am sure that, as I did, Nathaniel Hawthorne would find Angel and Apostle a delightful extrapolation on a master’s work built upon by another master in deliciously page-turning form.

Review by Brandon Copeland

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angel and Apostle is a wonderful book. Noyes' writing style is elegant and authentic, echoing Hawthorne's way with words. She doesn't reach for the same descriptive depths that he does, however her plot is a little more involved. Angel and Apostle isn't a straightforward retelling of Hawthorne's romanticized tale, instead it's an imaginative reinventing of The Scarlet Letter. There are several changes, but the most obvious is the replacement of Roger Chillingworth with an attractive, younger physician named Daniel Devlin and his role in the story.

I really enjoyed Noyes' transformation of Pearl. She is not the cruel, uncaring child found in The Scarlet Letter, but an uncultured child who's been left to her own devices too often as a result of being mostly ignored by the villagers, and at times her own mother. She's still spirited and moody, but often regrets the cruel things she says to her parent and those around her. And as the book moves past the events of The Scarlet Letter, she grows and learns to hold her mouth at times and think of how her actions will affect others, though she pays dearly for some of these lessons.

Angel and Apostle kept me intrigued throughout and surprised me with its ending. It's definitely a book that I will recommend to friends.

Thanks to Unbridled Books for the complimentary copy of Angel and Apostle. A positive review was not a requirement and the views expressed above are my own. For more information on Angel and Apostle, check out the Unbridled Books website.

[Caitlin · Rating 4 out of 5]

First let me confess that I'm not a huge fan of The Scarlet Letter nor of Nathaniel Hawthorne. I've read it multiple times for multiple classes and the novel has always left me cold. I could never find anything to relate to with regard to Hester Prynne other than a vague admiration for her stubbornness. Beyond that the whole thing always felt to me like An Important Book You Should Read and I just never really liked it.

Having said that, I enjoyed Angel and Apostle, Deborah Noyes' debut novel. She manages to capture the flavor of Hawthorne's writing without being enslaved to it and it was fun to see how someone thought Pearl, the impish symbol of a child from the original, might turn out.

The character of Pearl is fleshed out here as well follow her through her friendship with Simon, a blind boy with whom she explores the world. Less about the nature of sin and more about what constitutes a good life in a colonial setting this was a well-written, well-imagined book.

[Patty · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow!
Good start, huh? I will admit that this is not the type of book that I would ordinarily pick up but I am trying to expand my reading range. I don't tend towards literary novels but I am so very happy I opted to read this book. I have not read The Scarlet Letter, although I do know the basics of the story. You do not need to have read to read Angel and Apostle - it stands all on its own but I do admit that I want to go out and read it now...

The book is written in way that draws you in to the time period, to the exact place. Every time I had to put it down - and that was hard - I almost had to shake my head to bring myself back to the present. I have had that experience with very few books and know that this book will now become one that I read again and again.

When Ms. Noyes describes a scene you feel like you are in the room, on the beach, running from the fire. That kind of writing is rare and to be cherished. The conversations are real and true to age; the main character grows from child to adult through the course of the book and the transition is seamless.

The story is haunting. It stays with you. You want to know more. Is there anything better in a novel? To want to continue the story?

[Monica · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having had to read and discuss 'The Scarlet Letter' in high school English class it was sort of cool to see this book and I jumped at the chance for a review copy. This book did not disappoint, I truly love it. I wish I could have had it to read after 'The Scarlet Letter' in high school.

The one thing that truly held me captivated was the detail of each character's life. I got to know each character while reading, it's like when you are acquaintances with your neighbor, you know a bit about them but don't truly know them, then you invite them for tea and truly get to meet them and spend time with them. I think I just met some of these characters briefly in high school and just now got to truly make friends with them.

I loved getting to see little Pearl grow up, I loved learning a bit more about Hester and I loved seeing the whole world and times that these characters lived in. Ms. Noyes gave this story a new life, now I am going to go back and re-read 'The Scarlet Letter' with adult eyes and see if it feels differently.

[Leslee · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is an interesting story. I enjoyed the "fleshing out" of Pearl. Noyes has put a great deal of effort into her historical research, she does a good job of emulating Hawthorne. What the plot in Angel and Apostle does to the plot of The Scarlet Letter, however is unforgiveable. It seems to me that if you are going to the trouble of emulating an author's time and style, that you might want to honor his original work as well. All in all, it was a book worth my time, which is something I don't often say about contemporary fiction.

[Terryann · Rating 3 out of 5]

a smooth read with a likeable main character. pearl is the daughter of the infamous hester prinn from the renowned scarlett letter. noyes successfully picks up the language and setting of the original story, but...
i had to re- look up the nathanial hawthorne book to be sure, but i was very dissapointed that noyes changed the original story around so much.
i was also slightly disappointed with the ending. although it is probably true to the times, i really wished for something happier for pearl. that's just my own happy ending mania talking though:)

[Gmr · Rating 3 out of 5]

I first became aware of this title when roaming around the internet. Upon discovering it was connected to 'The Scarlet Letter', I was hooked. Now, it's not exactly a continuation of the story as you may be led to believe, nor is it an exact match up of the original events, but on its own with the facts taken as presented, it is an enjoyable romp through the literature days of yester year that will have you basking in the glow of Victorian Europe. Learn what happens to Pearl and Hester in one authors mind and see the classic as you've never seen it before.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angel and Apostle takes the reader into the life of Pearl, the daughter of Hester Prynne in The Scarlet Letter. The novel follows Pearl from a child and daughter to adulthood and motherhood. Throughout the story Pearl searches for truth, love, acceptance, and herself. Very well written the book does have some moments that are slow but the book does pick up and is a great read. Great characters. Great descriptions. Good follow up to a great classic.

[Jennifer · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was another book club choice. It is a "sequel" to "The Scarlett Letter". If you liked "The Scarlett Letter", you would probably like this book. It was disappointing to me that Pearl essentially followed her mother's path. I had hoped for some sort of redemption. This is not really a book that I would recommend to someone. The writing was ok but the book was rough to get through.

[Amy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Noyes articulately captures the writing style of Nathaniel Hawthorne and the essence of Pearl and her point of view. It starts off with Pearl as a young girl and progresses on to her adulthood, marriage, and motherhood.

[Aly · Rating 4 out of 5]

great writer and picks up where the Hawthorne book leaves off...it's great to see Pearl and Hester back in print in a new, fresh book. It's an interesting time period and the setting is almost better than in hawthorne's original...pretty good read!

[Lara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was skeptical but I ended up enjoying the novel. An interesting perspective of Hester Pryne's daughter's life. The author has a nice writing style and attempted to write the way they spoke in the 1600s. Except for a few choice words she stuck in there, it was believable.

[Alicia · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a great view of Pearl from the Scarlet Letter. She grows up to be an interesting woman.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you like Nathaniel Hawthorn's style, this book is wonderful. This is the story of Pearl's life and a new twist on the the original story of the Scarlet Letter. I couldn't put it down.

[Kelly · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked how the book focuses on Pearl from Scarlet Letter.

[Phair · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this one hard to follow- there was just too much *stuff* going on but not enough clear *story*. It did have a pretty good atmosphere & feeling for the period.

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolute must-read a a novel to be enjoyed over the decades. Noyes' vision of how Hester Prynne's daughter's life would be is brilliant and makes for an endearing novel.