{"product_id":"9781420941784","title":"The Power of Sympathy","description":"William Hill Brown (1765-1793) was an American poet, dramatist and novelist who anonymously published \"The Power of Sympathy\", considered to be the first American novel. The son of a prominent clockmaker, Brown received his education at a Boston boy's school. His literary spark and encouragement came from his step-aunt, Catherine Byles. While living in Boston, Brown lived directly across the street from a famous Boston family, the Anthorp-Mortons, who became the center of a local scandal in 1788. Frances Anthorp committed suicide after she was discovered to be having an affair with her brother-in-law, Perez Morton. \"The Power of Sympathy\", based on this infamous Boston scandal, follows a sentimental writing style developed by Samuel Richardson. This epistolary novel about tragic, incestuous love began a flood of other sentimental novels from its popularity. Because it has the distinction of being the first book-length work written and issued in America, the novel has received critical attention since its publication.","brand":"Neeland Media LLC","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47127705518320,"sku":"9781420941784","price":0.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0737\/7593\/9824\/files\/9781420941784_p0.jpg?v=1763730004","url":"https:\/\/shop-qa.barnesandnoble.com\/products\/9781420941784","provider":"Barnes \u0026 Noble (DEV)","version":"1.0","type":"link"}