Horace Walpole, The Castle of Otranto
The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole My rating: 3 of 5 stars Published pseudonymously in 1764 by an English politician, The Castle of Otranto is usually praised as the … Continue reading
Samuel Johnson, Selected Essays
Selected Essays by Samuel Johnson My rating: 4 of 5 stars This Penguin Classics collection of essays by the great English critic and moralist Samuel Johnson is devoted largely to … Continue reading
J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur, Letters from an American Farmer
Letters from an American Farmer by J. Hector St. John de Crèvecoeur My rating: 5 of 5 stars It might sound odd to call such a ubiquitous text underrated, but … Continue reading
Susanna Rowson, Charlotte Temple
Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson My rating: 2 of 5 stars Often called America’s first bestseller, Charlotte Temple (1791) is a short didactic novel of primarily historical interest. In this, … Continue reading
Samuel Richardson, Pamela
Pamela by Samuel Richardson My rating: 3 of 5 stars As a number of observers have stated, a classic may be defined most simply as any work of art that … Continue reading
Charles Brockden Brown, Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist
Wieland and Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist by Charles Brockden Brown My rating: 4 of 5 stars An early American novel—perhaps the most famous one—about a family destroyed by mysterious … Continue reading
