Episode 1 of 2
Authorship and Status as First American Novel
- When
- 1789
- Where
- Publication of the novel
The epistolary sentimental novel was written by William Hill Brown as his first novel and is widely considered the first American novel.
'The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature' is a 1789 American sentimental novel written in epistolary form by William Hill Brown. It was Brown's first novel and is widely considered to be the first American novel. The work carries ties to American politics and nationhood, in keeping with early American sentimental novels readable as allegorical accounts of the nation's development.
Sources
- The Power of Sympathy Wikipedia, revision of 2026-06-11
Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.