Charles Brockden Brown: Biography from Answers.com Mobile

Charles Brockden Brown

(born Jan. 17, 1771, Philadelphia, Pa., U.S. — died Feb. 22, 1810, Philadelphia) U.S. writer. Brown left his law studies to devote himself to writing. His gothic novels in American settings were the first in a tradition later adapted by Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Wieland (1798), his best-known work, shows the ease with which mental balance is lost when common sense is confronted with the uncanny. His writings reflect a thoughtful liberalism while exploiting horror and terror. He has been called the "father of the American novel."

For more information on Charles Brockden Brown, visit Britannica.com.