Semi-fictional, this chapter explains how the romance of The Scarlet Letter came to be presented as a story to the audience. Having always wanted to be a "literary man," the narrator talks about his three-year stint as a Surveyor in the Salem Custom House. Mostly filled with older gentlemen, the workplace was a very political (Whig) environment and charged with Puritan history.

After brief character sketches of the personalities in the Custom House, the writer then explains how he came upon a special package among the piles of papers. It contained a red cloth with "A" embroidered in gold thread and a manuscript by Jonathan Pue (the man who once held the writer's job). Finding the story extremely interesting, the narrator thus retells the story of Hester Prynne from Massachusetts' Puritan history.

Review:

The preface serves to introduce the reader to the narrator and provides background information for the story. The theme of the novel is based on a true story. It is a part of American history that originated in the Puritan Colony of Massachusetts.