Full Description
Sukey Vickery's Emily Hamilton is an epistolary novel dealing with the courtship and marriages of three women. Originally published in 1803, it is one of the earliest examples of realist fiction in America and a departure from other novels at the turn of the nineteenth century. From the outset its author intended it as a realist project, never delving into the overly sentimental plotting or characterization present in much of the writing of Vickery's contemporaries. Emily Hamilton explores from a decidedly feminine perspective the idea of a woman's right to choose her own spouse and the importance of female friendship. Vickery's characterization of women further diverges from the typical eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century didactic of the righteous/sinful woman and depicts, instead, believable female characters exhibiting true-to-life behavior. A presentation of this novel accompanied by Vickery's poetry, letters, a diary fragment, and a few nineteenth-century responses to her work, Emily Hamilton and Other Writings is the first complete collection of Vickery's writings.
Contents
AcknowledgmentsIntroductionSuggestions for Further ReadingA Note on the TextList of CharactersEmily HamiltonPoems Published in the Massachusetts Spy LINES, Addressed to JOHN ADAMS, ESQ. late PRESIDENT of the UNITED STATES BEAUTY ADDRESS to PIETY CHARACTER of a YOUNG LADY To FIDELIA To THEODORUS RESIGNATION To the Memory of Miss H. who departed this life on the 6th of July, after a short illness To FIDELIA To THEODORUS EVENING REFLECTIONS [untitled.] To EUGENE To FIDELIA To THEODORUS To CONTENT LINES,Occasioned by the Death of Miss E **** SUMMER [untitled.] SONNET to FIDELIA To FREDERICUnpublished Manuscripts Ode for the New year. Jan. 1st , 1784 [Letter to Adeline Hartwell] Written after reading some very elegant extracts from Campbell's pleasures of hope. Address to Hope A tale for those who deal in the marvelous [untitled] [untitled] To Adelaide- [Letter to Isaiah Thomas, Junior] [Journal]Appendix TRIBUTE to MERIT [Review of Emily Hamilton]Notes
