Correspondence and American Literature, 1770-1865

by Elizabeth Hewitt

Overview

Elizabeth Hewitt argues that many canonical American authors, including Jefferson, Emerson, Melville, Dickinson and Whitman, turned to letter-writing as an idealized genre through which to consider the challenges of American democracy before the Civil War. Hewitt maintains that, although correspondence is generally only conceived as a biographical archive, it must instead be understood as a significant genre through which these early authors made sense of social and political relations in the new nation.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521842556
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	11/25/2004
Series:	Cambridge Studies in American Literature and Culture , #146
Pages:	242
Product dimensions:	5.98(w) x 9.02(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Elizabeth Hewitt is Assistant Professor of English at The Ohio State University.

Table of Contents

Preface: universal letter writers; 1. National letters; 2. Emerson and Fuller's phenomenal letters; 3. Melville's dead letters; 4. Jacobs's letters from nowhere; 5. Dickinson's lyrical letters; Conclusion: Whitman's universal letters.

Editorial Reviews

"Hewitt's voluminous reading and mastery of the literature are evident throughout. Highly recommended." CHOICE

From the Publisher