This book certainly isn't for everyone, but if you're a fan of 18th century lit/early American lit as I am, it's not to be missed for its depiction of the New World in all the terror of its vast and unknowable wilderness. I certainly can understand the harsh criticism of modern readers, and I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone I know, but it has earned its place in the literary portfolio, and it's clear the influence Brown had on other, more successful writers who followed. (MountainAshleah)

About the author:

Charles Brockden Brown (January 17, 1771 - February 22, 1810) was an American novelist, historian, and editor of the Early National period.

Brown is regarded by some scholars as the most important American novelist before James Fenimore Cooper. Although Brown was not the first American novelist, as some early criticism claimed, the breadth and complexity of his achievement as a writer in multiple genres (novels, short stories, essays and periodical writings, poetry, historiography, and reviews) makes him a crucial figure in literature of the early Republic. His best-known works include Wieland and Edgar Huntly, both of which display his characteristic interest in Gothic themes. He has been referred to as the "Father of the American Novel." (wikipedia.org)