The Power of Sympathy and Other Writings

Eighteenth-century readers were just as interested in gossip—especially about the rich and powerful—as contemporary readers. This volume contains the full text of William Hill Brown’s 1789 novel The Power of Sympathy and the related plays Sans Souci, alias, Free and Easy and Occurrences of the Times, all of which draw on contemporary scandal and intrigue among the elite of Boston in constructing their plots. The literary works collected here used a combination of sentiment and satire to address the public and private moral corruption and structural inequalities that made young American women especially vulnerable—and burdened them as symbols of national virtue. Situating the works within their milieu, the editors highlight the experiences of actual readers to explain why these scandals were so compelling on personal and political levels.

Historical documents provide further context for the events, including debates about women’s education and political agency; the post-Revolutionary cultural work of novels, plays, and poetry; and controversies surrounding literary and journalistic representations of seduction, suicide, and other instances of unregulated passion.