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Product Description
Product Description
One of the earliest American novels, Wieland (1798) is a thrilling tale of suspense and intrigue set in rural Pennyslvania in the 1760s. Based on an actual case of a New York farmer who murdered his family, the novel employs Gothic devices and sensational elements such as spontaneous combustion, ventriloquism, and religious fanaticism. The plot turns on the charming but diabolical intruder Carwin, who exercises his power over the narrator, Clara Wieland, and her family, destroying the order and authority of the small community in which they live. Underlying the mystery and horror, however, is a profound examination of the human mind's capacity for rational judgement. The text also explores some of the most important issues vital to the survival of democracy in the new American republic. Brown further considers power and manipulation in his unfinished sequel, Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist, which traces Carwin's career as a disciple of the utopist Ludloe.
About the Author
Emory Elliot is Professor of English at the University of California, Riverside - and the author of numerous publications on the Colonial American period and on Puritan Literature.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Published in 1798, "Wieland" is one of the earliest American novels. The narrator Clara Wieland lives an idyllic life in the Pennsylvania countryside. Intelligent and independent, she spends her days in the company of her beloved brother and his family who live nearby. One day a mysterious stranger, Carwin, enters their lives and soon inexplicable events threaten their happiness and sanity.
This is an original novel with an engaging narrator and I was completely gripped by Clara's story. The novel contains many strange and terrifying episodes in which the suspense is built up to an unbearable level. Having read the blurb of this book (which gives too much of the plot away), I thought I knew which way the story was heading, but the truth, when it emerges, is even more sinister and unsettling, raising issues which seem ahead of their time. Thus the novel works well as a whole, with the philosophical themes being complemented by the action.
As one would expect from a work of this period, the vocabulary and syntax does at times require concentration. The characters also have a tendency to use archaic diction (e.g. 'thou', 'thee', verbs ending '-est', etc.) at periods of high emotion, lending a melodramatic feel to some of the dialogue.
This OUP edition also includes an unfinished novel of about sixty pages told from the point of view of Carwin (the title unfortunately gives away a key plot device in "Wieland"). So far as it went this extract was interesting, exploring ideas in ethics and political philosophy and including a wonderful passage on the unfairness of marriage to women (Brockden was also the author of various feminist works). I would not say, however, that this was essential reading with regards to one's enjoyment or opinion of "Wieland".
Finally this edition has a good introduction which succinctly places the book in its historical and cultural context as well as drawing out some of the novel's subtler aspects.
This is an original novel with an engaging narrator and I was completely gripped by Clara's story. The novel contains many strange and terrifying episodes in which the suspense is built up to an unbearable level. Having read the blurb of this book (which gives too much of the plot away), I thought I knew which way the story was heading, but the truth, when it emerges, is even more sinister and unsettling, raising issues which seem ahead of their time. Thus the novel works well as a whole, with the philosophical themes being complemented by the action.
As one would expect from a work of this period, the vocabulary and syntax does at times require concentration. The characters also have a tendency to use archaic diction (e.g. 'thou', 'thee', verbs ending '-est', etc.) at periods of high emotion, lending a melodramatic feel to some of the dialogue.
This OUP edition also includes an unfinished novel of about sixty pages told from the point of view of Carwin (the title unfortunately gives away a key plot device in "Wieland"). So far as it went this extract was interesting, exploring ideas in ethics and political philosophy and including a wonderful passage on the unfairness of marriage to women (Brockden was also the author of various feminist works). I would not say, however, that this was essential reading with regards to one's enjoyment or opinion of "Wieland".
Finally this edition has a good introduction which succinctly places the book in its historical and cultural context as well as drawing out some of the novel's subtler aspects.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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5 reviews
7 of 9 people found the following review helpful
the early beginnings of american literature
31 Dec 2000
Format:Paperback
Having to rate a book like this is no easy task. I give it four stars as a sort of average. The edition itself, with a solid introduction by Emory Eliot, is very good. The novel, like all of Brown's works, is a somewhat unsatisfying effort.
That said, let me add quickly that this novel is a must-read, without a doubt. This truly Gothic tale will keep you in suspence from start to finish--and guess what, Brown even claims a historical precedent for the narrator's brother slaughtering his wife and children. This is Real TV!
It is not a great novel (although superior to, for instance, "Edgar Huntly" and "Stephen Calvert") but it is a fascinating one. Brown was quick to jump on the bandwagon of female fiction that proved to be the bestseller in 19th century America, and this semi-epistolary tale by a female narrator is fascinating if only for the problems its form poses. For instance, its epistolary character, meant to create a sense of urgency and directness, never convinces due to its pretentious literate (read, latinate) diction and syntax. Moreover, Brown's choice of a female narrator--a man writing like a woman writing like a man--, while marketable in 1798, shows that he always bites off much more than he can chew. A much better (and earlier, 1797!) example of a female epistolary novel is Hannah W. Foster's "The Coquette," available in a wonderful edition also by the Oxford UP.
Unlike what some would have you believe, Brown is not the earliest American novelist. It is interesting to note that some of his fans claim Brown instead of Cooper, completely forgetting the books put out by female authors and read mainly by women. I might add that Brown had a male predecessor also, a namesake, William Hill Brown ("The Power of Sympathy," 1789): one shouldn't try to simplify the history of early American literature. However, to come to grips with American literature, and especially its love for the Gothic (mystery, murder, incest), "Wieland" is a great start, and this is a very good edition.
3 of 4 people found the following review helpful
A challenge worth taking on....
14 Oct 2010
Format:Paperback
First, let me say that this is not the type of thing I tend to read. I've read reviews of this book by people who were assigned this text for a class -- and they hated or did not finish it because it's written in a somewhat old and advanced type of prose. I was actually surprised how much I enjoyed it once I kept reading and got into it.
As a work of horror fiction, it does have some genuinely creepy moments here and there, and plenty of suspense, but to me at least, it satisfies much more as a kind of "cozy" rural mystery. There's also some romance thrown in toward the middle. "Wieland" does grab you eventually, and it has a thick atmosphere of Gothic doom over the characters, but from a source that stays well-hidden until the end.
I have to agree with the prime criticisms thrown at this book; that the explanations given for the events were essentially too far flung, too amazing to be believed. I would also say that more of a tie should have been made between the prelude about the father and the later events that happen to his son and daughter. I would recommend this book only to those who are truly committed to reading older Gothic tales, or what some consider "America's earliest novel."
As a work of horror fiction, it does have some genuinely creepy moments here and there, and plenty of suspense, but to me at least, it satisfies much more as a kind of "cozy" rural mystery. There's also some romance thrown in toward the middle. "Wieland" does grab you eventually, and it has a thick atmosphere of Gothic doom over the characters, but from a source that stays well-hidden until the end.
I have to agree with the prime criticisms thrown at this book; that the explanations given for the events were essentially too far flung, too amazing to be believed. I would also say that more of a tie should have been made between the prelude about the father and the later events that happen to his son and daughter. I would recommend this book only to those who are truly committed to reading older Gothic tales, or what some consider "America's earliest novel."
1 of 2 people found the following review helpful
American Gothic
10 Mar 2010
Format:Paperback
One of the earliest American authors--and guess what, our literature starts with horror! A fun window onto the uncertainty and dread that were a part of this country's beginnings. Spooky voices, impersonation, and religious fanaticism always equal quality entertainment.
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