The peer-reviewed scholarly journal considers literary culture of the US from the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 to the death of James Fenimore Cooper in 1851: the gawky teen-age period
of American literature that many scholars do not find very attractive. The 10 essays here discuss such topics as Elias Boudinot's 1837 letter on Cherokee removal, cross-dressing and virtuous
citizenship in The Female Marine and "The Mess-Chest," Catharine Maria Sedgwick's portrayal of empathy and ethics in early America, Cooper's turn at satire in the age of Jackson, and Washington
Irving and money. A bibliographical essay covers the American novel before 1820. Annotation 穢2010 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
