Letters from an American Farmer; and, Sketches of Eighteenth-Century America
by J. Hector St. John De Crevecoeur
On This Page
Description
An emigrant French aristocrat-turned-farmer, Jean de Cre?vecoeur was granted New York citizenship in 1765 and became a landowner in Orange County. There, he wrote about his farming experiences and interpreted the nation's development in a series of charming and keenly observant essay-length letters about life in the Early Republic. A Baedeker of American culture for Old World readers, the book painted a vivid portrait of the young country, not only detailing seafaring life in New England and show more plantation culture in the South, but also providing incisive vignettes of the hardships of frontier livi show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Reviews
I read this a long time ago; what struck me was his praise of American reigous toleration despite his obvious contempt for the Calvinists who regarded their ministers as paid servants.(Do I remember this right? I read just now he was married by a French Calvinist minister.)
In Letters From an American Farmer, Crevecoeur assembles an epistolary showing America, the free society. Ranging from idyllic and unspoiled to the damages caused by society, American Farmer paints a whole picture of early American life.
Recommended for those interested in writings of early America.
Recommended for those interested in writings of early America.
A Frenchman in pre-Revolutionary America up through 1782 farms in New York and corresponds with an Englishman by letter. Very enlightening.
Westvaco is the West Virginia Paper Co., makers of fine papers. For 47 years, they did a special Christmas book each year that they distributed to their customers, all featuring works from American history or literature. They all include a decorated slipcover, fine endpapers and many have embossed images on the book covers. Some feature gilt edges and silk ribbon bookmarks. Although they had a limited press run the number is not stated nor are they numbered or signed.
"... will afford a great deal of profitable and amusing information, respecting the private life of the Americans, as well as the progress of agriculture, manufactures, and arts, in their country. Perhaps the picture he gives, though found in fact, is in some instances embellished with rather too flattering circumstances." - GW to Richard Henderson, 19 June 1788.
Ratings
Members
- Recently Added By
Lists
100 Books to Read in a Lifetime (That Are Older Than 200 Years)
415 works; 175 members
AP Lit
363 works; 6 members
Works Cited in The History of White People by Nell Irvin Painter
321 works; 2 members
Author Information
12+ Works 1,001 Members
Some Editions
Series
Belongs to Publisher Series
Work Relationships
Is contained in
Contains
Common Knowledge
- Canonical title
- Letters from an American Farmer; and, Sketches of Eighteenth-Century America
- Original title
- Letters from an American farmer : describing certain provincial situations, manners, and customs, not generally known ; and conveying some idea of the late and present interior circumstances of the British colonies in North America. Written for the information of a friend in England, by J. Hector St. John, a Farmer in Pennsylvania
- Alternate titles
- Letters from an American farmer : describing certain provincial situations, manners, and customs and conveying some idea of the late and present interior circumstances of the British colonies in North America
- Original publication date
- 1782; 1782 (English, 1 volume) (English, 1 volume); 1784 (French, 2 volumes) (French, 2 volumes); 1787 (French, 3 volumes) (French, 3 volumes)
- Important places
- USA; Pine Hill
- Disambiguation notice
- This work combines the Letters from an American Farmer, published in 1782, with other essays that were still unpublished at Crèvecoeur's death.
Various editions of the Letters from an American Farmer may include combinations of English, translated French, and posthumous material. The first version of this work was published in 1782 in English. A two-volume edi... (show all)tion in French appeared in 1784, and it was expanded to three volumes in 1787. The French material was not immediately translated into English. Crèvecoeur died with many more essays still unpublished; these have been collected and published in the 20th century.
Classifications
Statistics
- Members
- 902
- Popularity
- 29,869
- Reviews
- 5
- Rating
- (3.51)
- Languages
- Dutch, English, French, German
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 25
- ASINs
- 27
