Wieland; or the Transformation and Memoirs of Carwin The Biloquist (Oxford World's Classics)

About this book

One of the earliest major American novels Wieland (1798) is a thrilling tale of suspense and intrigue set in rural Pennsylvania 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. Also included is Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist the unfinished sequel to Wieland in which Brown considers power and manipulation while tracing Carwins career as a disciple of the utopist Ludloe.