The Power of Sympathy

The Power Of Sympathy

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, widely considered to be the first American novel. Published by Isaiah Thomas in Boston on January 21, 1789, 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.

Read more about The Power Of Sympathy:  Historical Context, Characters, Plot Summary, Critical Discussions, Overview of Early American Literacy and The Emergence of Print Culture

Famous quotes containing the words power and/or sympathy:

    “La foi consiste à croire ce que la raison ne croit pas ... Il ne suffit pas qu’une chose soit possible pour la croire. Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe ... It is not enough that a thing be possible for it to be believed.”
    —Voltaire [François Marie Arouet] (1694–1778)

    “Autumn wins you best by this its mute
    Appeal to sympathy for its decay.”
    —Robert Browning (1812–1889)