Showing results by author "Charles Brockden Brown" in All Categories

The lives of a prosperous, intellectual family are disrupted when they meet the mysterious Carwin. Set in the period before the Revolutionary War, this is often described as the first American Gothic novel. - Summary by Karen Joan Kohoutek

Wieland (1798) is an early American novel set in 1760s Pennsylvania. Based on a real case of a New York farmer who murdered his family, the story is imbued with suspense and intrigue, adopting Gothic devices such as ventriloquism and spontaneous combustion. The satanic interloper Carwin exercises his power over the narrator, Clara Wieland, wreaking havoc over the Wieland family with disastrous consequences. A central theme in the novel is the issue of the values that formed the basis of a new democratic and republican America.

Edgar Huntly, or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker (1787) by Charles Brockden Brown is considered one of the first American Gothic novels. The castles and crypts of the European Gothic literary tradition is replaced by the mountains and valleys of the hostile American wilderness, including the tense relationship between Americans and Indians on the frontier. In some ways a detective story, the novel is complex in its examination of gender relations, religious and ethnic clashes, and the complicated psychology of its titular character.

In the tumultuous period before the Revolutionary War, the tranquil lives of an affluent and intellectual family are thrown into chaos by the enigmatic figure of Carwin. Often hailed as the first American Gothic novel, this captivating tale explores the depths of human experience and the shadows that lurk in the heart of society. - Summary by Karen Joan Kohoutek

Dive into Arthur Mervyn, a gripping tale of a young man from the countryside who arrives in a city ravaged by Yellow Fever. As he succumbs to the illness, he finds solace in the care of a compassionate doctor. In a bid to earn the doctors trust, Arthur reveals the story of his life. Yet, as whispers of a different narrative emerge from those who know him, both the doctor and the reader are left questioning Arthurs true character. Written by Brown, who experienced the terror of Yellow Fever during a New York outbreak, this novel powerfully depicts the horrors of the disease and its profound ...

Arthur Mervyn is a novel written by Charles Brockden Brown and published in 1799. It was one of Brown's more popular novels and is in many ways representative of Brown's dark, Gothic style and subject matter. It is also recognized as one of the most influential works of American and Philadelphia Gothic literature.