author
William Hill Brown
1765–1793
Best known as the author of The Power of Sympathy (1789), he is often credited with writing the first American novel. His brief career also included essays, poetry, and dramatic work that show how quickly early American literature was finding its own voice.
1 Audiobook
The power of sympathy: or, The triumph of nature. Founded in truth.
by William Hill Brown
About the author
Born in Boston in November 1765, William Hill Brown grew up in the early years of the United States and wrote during a moment when American literature was still taking shape. Sources agree that his anonymously published The Power of Sympathy appeared in 1789 and is generally regarded as the first American novel.
Brown also wrote other pieces, including Harriot, or the Domestic Reconciliation and the essay series The Reformer, which appeared in Massachusetts Magazine. Reference works describe him as both a novelist and dramatist, and his writing is often linked to the sentimental and moral style popular in the late eighteenth century.
His life was short: he died in 1793, still in his twenties. Even so, his place in literary history remains secure because his work stands near the beginning of the American novel tradition.