 Title page of the first edition | |
| Author | William Hill Brown |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Sentimental novel |
| Publisher | Isaiah Thomas |
Publication date | January 21, 1789 |
| Publication place | United States |
The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature (1789) is an 18th-century American sentimental novel written in epistolary form by William Hill Brown and is widely considered to be the first American novel.[1] The Power of Sympathy was Brown's first novel. The characters' struggles illustrate the dangers of seduction and the pitfalls of giving in to one's passions, while advocating the moral education of women and the use of rational thinking as ways to prevent the consequences of such actions.
- ^ For an extended discussion of the critical debate surrounding the claims to this title, see Cathy Davidson, Revolution and the Word (153–156) and Carla Mulford's introduction to the 1996 Penguin edition of the text, among other sources.