Publication of The Power of Sympathy

Publication in Boston. Isaiah Thomas first published 'The Power of Sympathy' in Boston on January 21, 1789, selling it for nine shillings. The novel appeared anonymously, and although popularly attributed to Boston poet Sarah Wentworth Apthorp Morton because the plot resembled a scandal in her family, William Hill Brown was not correctly identified as the author until 1894.

Authorship and Form. The work is a 1789 American sentimental novel written in epistolary form by William Hill Brown, and it was Brown's first novel. Its full title, 'The Power of Sympathy: or, The Triumph of Nature,' reflects its sentimental character, and the book is widely considered to be the first American novel.

Themes and Interpretation. The novel has ties to American politics and nationhood, consistent with early American sentimental novels that can be read as allegorical accounts of the nation's development. Its plot suggests that a balance of sympathy and rational thinking, or reason used to overcome passion, is necessary for a productive, successful member of society.