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Charles Brockden Brown Papers,
1792-1821, n.d. (bulk 1792-1797)
2.0 linear feet.
Catalog Number: M21
Series List:
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Agency History / Biographical Note:
Charles Brockden Brown, novelist and journalist, was the first professional
American writer and the first American writer to develop an international
reputation. While practicing the law, Brown published his earliest
work, "The Rhapsodist," in the Columbian Magazine for 1789.
In 1793, he turned to writing full time, published all his novels
between 1798 (Wieland) and 1801 (Jane Talbot), and
edited literary and historical journals (1799-1810). Among his works
were Alcuin: a Dialogue (1798), a work on the rights of women;
Edgar Huntly (1799-1800), a novel in two parts; a translation
of Volney's Tableau du climat et du sol des Etats-Unis...
(1804); and the American Register or General Repository of History
..., which he edited from 1807-1810.
Scope and Content:
The collection consists largely of Brown's correspondence, much
of it with his friends Joseph Bringhurst, Jr., (1767-1834) and Deborah
Ferris (1773-1844), later Mrs. Bringhurst, or between Ferris and
Bringhurst. Many of the letters are included in Charles E. Bennett's
"The Letters of Charles Brockden Brown: An Annotated Census," published
in the Resources for American Literary Study, Autumn 1976.
However, a number of the letters originally included in the Bennett
Census as authored by Charles B. Brown under the alias "Petrarch"
have since been reclassified as the writing of Joseph Bringhurst,
Jr.
General note: Photocopies of correspondence provided for patron use.
Correspondence also available on microfilm; George J. Mitchell Dept. of Special
Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library, Brunswick, Me.; 1 microfilm reel.
Cite as: Charles Brockden Brown Papers, George J. Mitchell Department of Special Collections & Archives, Bowdoin College Library
Access Restrictions: None.
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