The Power of Sympathy was the first American novel, published in Boston in January 1789. An epistolary novel, it tells the tragic story of the relationship of an orphan girl and a man of good family, with a dramatic twist and tragic ending. It was inspired by an actual scandal in the Apthorp family of Boston, the "Ophelia" and "Martin" related within the story.

It was published anonymously, and there has been controversy over the authorship. For over a century his family kept the author's identity secret. Boston antiquarians eventually fixed upon the poet Sarah (Apthorp) Morton as the probable author, despite that she was the sister of the victim and married to the alleged seducer in the real-life scandal. In the autumn of 1894, after the edition used in this recording was published, William Hill Brown's niece broke the long silence and provided proofs that he was the author.

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Luisterboek: 19 maart 2024