Charles Brockden Brown

Charles Brockden Brown (1771-1810) was an American novelist, historian, and editor recognized as the 'father of the American novel.' Born into a Quaker merchant family in Philadelphia, he was one of the first professional authors in America, pioneering gothic novels with American settings that influenced later writers like Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. His major works include Wieland (1798), Arthur Mervyn (1799-1800), and Edgar Huntly (1799), and he also edited influential literary magazines throughout his career.