Susan Cheever's six favorite Massachusetts books

At The Week magazine, Susan Cheever — novelist, memoirist and author of a new biography of Louisa May Alcott — recommended her six favorite works produced by Alcott’s prolific Concord, Mass., circle.

One title on the list:

The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Inspired by critic Margaret Fuller (a figure left out of many accounts of the Concord circle), Hawthorne wrote this thrilling story about a woman proudly raising her illegitimate child. Filled with false promises, predatory villains, and sexual aberration, Hawthorne’s story plumbs the depths of human perversity.

Read about the other books on the list.

The Scarlet Letter is on John Mullan's list of ten of the best reformations in literature and among Paul Auster's five most important books.

Read about Louisa May Alcott: A Personal Biography by Susan Cheever.

Check out Cheever's favorite books and her five best list of books about obsession.

Visit Susan Cheever's official website, and see the Page 69 Test results for American Bloomsbury.

--Marshal Zeringue