The Sinners All Bow

Two Authors, One Murder, and the Real Hester Prynne

By: Kate Winkler Dawson

Narrated by: Kate Winkler Dawson

One of Amazon’s Best History Books of January

Acclaimed journalist, podcaster, and true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson tells the true story of the scandalous murder investigation that became the inspiration for both Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter and the first true-crime book published in America.

On a cold winter day in 1832, Sarah Maria Cornell was found dead in a quiet farmyard in a small New England town. When her troubled past and a secret correspondence with charismatic Methodist minister Reverend Ephraim Avery was uncovered, more questions emerged. Was Sarah’s death a suicide...or something much darker? Determined to uncover the real story, Victorian writer Catharine Read Arnold Williams threw herself into the investigation as the trial was unfolding and wrote what many claim to be the first American true-crime narrative, Fall River. The murder divided the country and inspired Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—but the reverend was not convicted, and questions linger to this day about what really led to Sarah Cornell’s death. Until now.

In The Sinners All Bow, acclaimed true-crime historian Kate Winkler Dawson travels back in time to nineteenth-century small-town America, emboldened to finish the work Williams started nearly two centuries before. Using modern investigative advancements—including “forensic knot analysis” and criminal profiling (which was invented fifty-five years later with Jack the Ripper)—Dawson fills in the gaps of Williams’s research to find the truth and bring justice to an unsettling mystery that speaks to our past as well as our present, anchored by three women who subverted the script they were given.

©2025 Kate Winkler Dawson (P)2025 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

One of Crime Reads’s Most Anticipated Crime Books of 2025

One of Minnesota Star Tribune’s 5 Hottest Books We Can’t Wait to Read in January

"A fascinating re-examining of a true-crime mystery that continues to unfold."—Jenny Lawson, New York Times bestselling author of Let’s Pretend This Never Happened

“The Sinners All Bow is an utterly original reinvention of the true-crime genre, deconstructing a celebrated and historical murder-mystery while also catapulting the reader through a riveting and unpredictable tale.”—Michael Finkel, New York Times bestselling author of The Art Thief and The Stranger in the Woods

“Who killed Hester Prynne? In this haunting true crime investigation, Kate Winkler Dawson pursues justice for the real woman behind Hawthorne's heroine, Sarah Maria Cornell, whose mysterious death was initially ruled a suicide. Applying modern forensic techniques and joining forces with her 19th century counterpart, Catharine Williams, who wrote what is likely the first American true crime narrative, Dawson takes the reader on an intrepid and utterly gripping journey of discovery. Written in shimmering transportive detail, The Sinners All Bow is an exceptional work of historical reportage that resonates all too strikingly today.”—Abbott Kahler, New York Times bestselling author of Eden Undone: A True Story of Sex, Murder, and Utopia at the Dawn of World War II

AMAZING STORY!!

I was so shocked at the end of this story. I cannot believe they could not find him guilty. he is 100% guilty, guilty, guilty, guilty. oh my gosh! this is such a sad story and I'm so glad I got it. thank you Kate! I love your work. I've got everything you've written. I want to keep up on everything else you've got. oh my gosh, I am so much in love with you. I love your work. I listen to all your podcasts. you're amazing! amazing woman for writing this story and taking the time to do this. you are just a gem. thank you!

The Wicked Al Bow

An incredible read! Kate Winkler Dawson is a wonderful researcher. I very much enjoyed all of the hard work she put into this book.

Meticulously analyzed and captivatingly told

As a lover of the true crime genre, as well as a history nerd, I very much enjoyed this book. Kate Winkler Dawson, the author, is a superb author/speaker. I learned about the book from the podcast she produces alongside Paul Holes called Buried Bones. I enjoyed the deep dive into this very old case, it’s impact on American literature, the connection with modern justice system struggles, and how the entire case and analysis shed great light on what American life was like—for the better and the worse— in the early 19th century. As an added bonus, I am glad that the author narrated the book. She makes for a very pleasant listen.

The sinners ALL BOW

This book was a thriller, historical fiction, and a great sorry woven around all the characters. I binged it in a weekend! EXCELLENT *********

Kate has done it again!!

Loved this story. I most appreciate how you state the facts and report on true crime respectfully.

I couldn’t make it past the third chapter

The story may have been OK, but the narration was horrible. I couldn’t make it past the third chapter.