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 actua
l case of a New York farmer who murdered his family, the novel employs Gothic de
vices and sensational elements such as spontaneous combustion, ventriloquism, an
d religious fanaticism. Also included is Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist, the un
finished sequel to Wieland, in which Brown considers power and manipulation whil
e tracing Carwin's career as a disciple of the utopist Ludloe.
