Brother Jonathan (novel)
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''Brother Jonathan: or, the New Englanders'' is an 1825
historical novel Historical fiction is a literary genre in which the plot takes place in a setting related to the past events, but is fictional. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literature, it can also be applied to other ty ...
by American writer John Neal. The title refers to
Brother Jonathan Brother Jonathan is the personification of New England. He was also used as an emblem of the U.S. in general, and can be an allegory of capitalism. His too-short pants, too-tight waistcoat and old-fashioned style reflect his taste for inexpensi ...
, a popular
personification Personification occurs when a thing or abstraction is represented as a person, in literature or art, as a type of anthropomorphic metaphor. The type of personification discussed here excludes passing literary effects such as "Shadows hold their b ...
of
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
and the broader United States. The story follows protagonist Walter Harwood as he and the nation around him both come of age through the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. The novel explores cross-cultural relationships and highlights
cultural diversity Cultural diversity is the quality of diverse or different cultures, as opposed to monoculture, the global monoculture, or a homogenization of cultures, akin to cultural evolution. The term "cultural diversity" can also refer to having different cu ...
within the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...
, stressing
egalitarianism Egalitarianism (), or equalitarianism, is a school of thought within political philosophy that builds from the concept of social equality, prioritizing it for all people. Egalitarian doctrines are generally characterized by the idea that all hu ...
and challenging the conception of a unified American nation. It features mixed-race Anglo- Indigenous characters and depicts them as the inheritors of North America. The book's sexual themes drew negative reactions from contemporary critics. These themes were explicit for the period, addressing female sexual virtue and male guilt for sexual misdeeds. Literature scholars have praised ''Brother Jonathan''s extensive and early use of realism in depicting American culture and speech. Using
phonetic transcription Phonetic transcription (also known as phonetic script or phonetic notation) is the visual representation of speech sounds (or ''phones'') by means of symbols. The most common type of phonetic transcription uses a phonetic alphabet, such as the ...
s, the dialogue documents a wide range of regional accents and
colloquialism Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...
s. Included in the dialogue is a likely-accurate depiction of
American Indian English American Indian English or Native American English is a diverse collection of English dialects spoken by many American Indians and Alaska Natives, notwithstanding indigenous languages also spoken in the United States, of which only a few are in d ...
, and what may be American literature's earliest attempt to express a wide range of emotion using children's natural speech patterns. Neal's characterizations of American character and speech were praised in the UK but derided in the US. The author nevertheless considered them central to developing an American literature distinct from British precedent. Neal wrote the original
manuscript A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand – or, once practical typewriters became available, typewritten – as opposed to mechanically printing, printed or repr ...
while crossing the Atlantic from
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
in early 1824, then revised it in London many times before convincing
William Blackwood William Blackwood (20 November 177616 September 1834) was a Scottish publisher who founded the firm of William Blackwood and Sons. Life Blackwood was born in Edinburgh on 20 November 1776. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a firm of book ...
of
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
to publish it in mid-1825. It is Neal's longest work and possibly the longest single work of American fiction until well into the twentieth century. The editing process was the most laborious of Neal's career and resulted in a number of inconsistencies in the plot. The author fashioned many of the deleted sections into separate works he published later. Considered one of America's top novelists at the time, Neal wrote ''Brother Jonathan'' with a British audience in mind in order to boost his reputation internationally. It was a financial failure that received mixed but mostly warm reviews at the time. Twenty-first century readers are generally unaware of the book, and many scholars consider it too complex to be considered good.


Plot

The storyline begins in 1774 in the Connecticut home of Presbyterian preacher Abraham Harwood. Abraham lives in the fictional community of Gingertown with his son Walter Harwood, his Virginian niece Edith Cummin, and a mysterious figure named Jonathan Peters. The introductory chapters illustrate the individual nature of the characters within the specific cultural context of
New England New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
. Walter loves Edith and feels jealous of her relationship with Jonathan. Abraham becomes implicated in a murder that occurred near Abraham's church, but the community turns its attention to Jonathan and drives him out of Gingertown. Walter becomes restless in his rural surroundings, but his father will not let him leave for New York City. Walter grew up spending time in the forest among
Indigenous people Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...
, particularly his friend Bald Eagle. When Walter gets caught in a spring flood, Bald Eagle saves him and brings him home. Edith and Walter express love for each other and become engaged. With his father's consent, Walter takes a stage coach to New York following a send-off from community members exhibiting New England customs. He gets a job in a counting house and moves into a
Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...
household, where he learns that his father has been killed and his family home seized by
British Loyalists Loyalists were colonists in the Thirteen Colonies who remained loyal to the The Crown, British Crown during the American Revolutionary War, often referred to as Tories, Royalists or King's Men at the time. They were opposed by the Patriot (Ame ...
. Walter meets a young man named Harry Flemming who has news concerning Edith. He reports that she is living among high society in Philadelphia and has asked for news of Jonathan. This inquiry reignites Walter's jealousy. Walter ends the engagement and develops relationships with two other women: Mrs. P. and Olive Montgomery. Olive knows Edith from childhood and met Jonathan through Harry. Walter and Harry get very drunk while observing riotous behavior during Declaration of Independence celebrations. Harry leads Walter to the luxurious home of a
courtesan Courtesan, in modern usage, is a euphemism for a "kept" mistress (lover), mistress or prostitute, particularly one with wealthy, powerful, or influential clients. The term historically referred to a courtier, a person who attended the Royal cour ...
named Emma. She seduces Walter and they sleep together, though he is troubled by thoughts of Edith. Walter finds a note written by Abraham explaining that Walter's father is not Abraham but, rather, a man named Warwick Savage, whom Abraham murdered upon discovering Warwick's sexual affair with his wife. The note also explains how Jonathan was implicated by his appearance near the murder scene. It also describes the strange likeness between Jonathan and Warwick. Walter joins the
Continental Army The Continental Army was the army of the United Colonies (the Thirteen Colonies) in the Revolutionary-era United States. It was formed by the Second Continental Congress after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War, and was establis ...
and serves under Captain
Nathan Hale Nathan Hale (June 6, 1755 – September 22, 1776) was an American Patriot, soldier and spy for the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War. He volunteered for an intelligence-gathering mission in New York City but was captured b ...
and Colonel Warwick Savage. Walter is bothered by the colonel's resemblance to Jonathan, then learns from Indigenous friends and from a letter from Edith that Warwick is actually Jonathan using a false identity. Walter learns that Jonathan has sinister reasons for joining the army. Jonathan tries to kill Walter during the Battle of Long Island and Walter wounds him in self defense. Walter is severely wounded during the Battle of Harlem Heights and he returns to his Quaker hosts. He is nursed by the daughter in the household, Ruth Ashley, who has held unrequited romantic feelings for him since he arrived in New York a year earlier. Meanwhile, Walter is haunted by dreams of Jonathan Peters. Walter recovers and hears that Olive is dying, so he ventures to visit her in an Indigenous settlement outside the city. Along the way, he witnesses Nathan Hale's execution and is nearly executed himself. Bald Eagle liberates Walter from enchantment by an Indigenous witch named Hannah, which had been causing his dreams of Jonathan and related suicidal thoughts. Upon meeting with Olive, Walter learns that her love for him is causing her death. She makes a contradictory statement regarding whether Walter should marry Edith, then dies. Edith tells Walter that the real Warwick had a brother who is using Warwick's name to escape punishment for committing crimes. It becomes unclear whether Abraham's murder victim was Warwick or the brother. Walter visits Edith where she is staying with
Benedict Arnold Benedict Arnold ( Brandt (1994), p. 4June 14, 1801) was an American military officer who served during the Revolutionary War. He fought with distinction for the American Continental Army and rose to the rank of major general before defect ...
. He witnesses her in a possibly romantic exchange with Jonathan and leaves without seeking an explanation from either. He rushes to Emma's home, seduces her, sleeps with her, and proposes marriage. Opposed to the institution of marriage, Emma refuses, but offers him advice. Walter sees her as a more upstanding character than before. Walter learns that Jonathan and Benedict Arnold are collaborating as traitors. Harry pursues them and wounds Jonathan. Emma gives birth to Walter's child. Walter considers marrying Emma until the child dies. Emma advises Walter to return to Edith and he leaves Emma with a letter to deliver to Edith if he should die. Edith tells Walter more about Warwick and his brother. She tells him to attend a meeting of Indigenous
Penobscot The Penobscot (Abenaki: ''Pαnawάhpskewi'') are an Indigenous people in North America from the Northeastern Woodlands region. They are organized as a federally recognized tribe in Maine and as a First Nations band government in the Atlantic pr ...
leaders to learn more. Walter travels to the Massachusetts
District of Maine The District of Maine was the governmental designation for what is now the U.S. state of Maine from October 25, 1780 to March 15, 1820, when it was admitted to the Union as the 23rd state. The district was a part of the Commonwealth of Massachuse ...
and sees the results of the Burning of Falmouth. At Indian Island he learns of his distant Penobscot and Mohawk ancestry and meets up with Edith. He finds Warwick/Jonathan, whose real name is Robert Evans. Robert is his real father but thought Walter was Abraham's son and that Walter was responsible for the accidental infant death of Robert's other son. Robert's twin brother George Evans was the man murdered by Abraham. Harry is Walter's cousin, the illegitimate son of Abraham's sister and George. The novel closes: "Walter and Edith were happy: and Warwick Savage – alias, Jonathan Peters – alias, Robert Evans – he, though not happy, was no longer bad, or foolish."


Background

At more than 1,300 pages across three volumes, ''Brother Jonathan'' is John Neal's longest book. Writing in 1958, scholar Lillie Deming Loshe considered it the longest work of early American fiction and possibly longer than any other since. There were no other works of American fiction comparable in scope, length, and complexity until the ''
Littlepage Manuscripts Littlepage is an English surname. Notable people with the surname include: *Adam Brown Littlepage (1859–1921), American lawyer and politician *Craig Littlepage (born 1951), American college athletics administrator and former basketball player and ...
'' trilogy (1845–1846) by
James Fenimore Cooper James Fenimore Cooper (September 15, 1789 – September 14, 1851) was an American writer of the first half of the 19th century, whose historical romances depicting colonist and Indigenous characters from the 17th to the 19th centuries brought h ...
. Neal published it anonymously, but revealed himself as the author through coded references in his 1830 novel, ''Authorship''. In
Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...
in 1818, Neal collaborated with fellow
Delphian Club The Delphian Club was an early American literary club active between 1816 and 1825. The focal point of Baltimore's literary community, Delphians like John Neal were prodigious authors and editors. The group of mostly lawyers and doctors gath ...
cofounder
Tobias Watkins Tobias Watkins (December 12, 1780 – November 14, 1855) was an American physician, editor, writer, educator, and political appointee in the Baltimore-Washington, D.C. area. He played leading roles in early American literary institutions such a ...
to write ''A History of the American Revolution'' (published 1819) based on
primary source In the study of history as an academic discipline, a primary source (also called an original source) is an artifact, document, diary, manuscript, autobiography, recording, or any other source of information that was created at the time under ...
s collected by another Delphian,
Paul Allen Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which h ...
. In late November 1823, he was at a dinner party with an English friend who quoted Sydney Smith's then-notorious 1820 remark, "in the four quarters of the globe, who reads an American book?". On December 15, 1823, he left Baltimore on a UK-bound ship. Partly in response to Smith, and drawing on that Revolutionary War research, Neal wrote the first draft of ''Brother Jonathan'' while sailing across the Atlantic. The working title was ''The Yankee'', and he intended it to be a major work that would expand his recognition as a significant novelist beyond the US and into the UK. '' Seventy-Six'' (1823) had gained him recognition as Cooper's chief rival as America's top novelist. He hoped this new novel would boost his reputation to surpass Cooper's. Unlike his previous novels, Neal wrote ''Brother Jonathan'' with a British audience in mind. His intention was to make the US, its language, and its customs more broadly recognized in the UK. Soon after arriving in London in February 1824, he brought his manuscript to publishers in that city, but failed to convince any of them to publish it. He approached the publishing company that pirated ''Seventy-Six'' and ''
Logan Logan may refer to: Places * Mount Logan (disambiguation) Australia * Logan (Queensland electoral district), an electoral district in the Queensland Legislative Assembly * Logan, Victoria, small locality near St. Arnaud * Logan City, local gover ...
'', offering them his other Baltimore-published novels ''Errata'' and ''Randolph'', but they refused to publish either. His financial situation was becoming desperate when, in April,
William Blackwood William Blackwood (20 November 177616 September 1834) was a Scottish publisher who founded the firm of William Blackwood and Sons. Life Blackwood was born in Edinburgh on 20 November 1776. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a firm of book ...
of
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
asked Neal to become a regular contributor to '' Blackwood's Magazine''. For the next year and a half, Neal was one of the magazine's most prolific contributors. While contributing articles to ''Blackwood's'', Neal rewrote ''Brother Jonathan'' with Blackwood in mind as a potential publisher. He sent the manuscript to Edinburgh in October 1824. Blackwood refused to publish, partly on account of the novel's sexual content, saying: "it is not fit for young people to read of seduction, brothels, and the abandonment of the sexes." Based on feedback from both Blackwood and his associate
David Macbeth Moir David Macbeth Moir (5 January 17986 July 1851) was a Scottish physician and writer. Biography Moir was born at Musselburgh on 5 January 1798, the son of Elizabeth Macbeth (1767–1842) and Robert Moir (''d''. 1842). He was educated at Musse ...
, Neal revised the novel and submitted a second draft in March 1825. Blackwood agreed to publish, but requested one more round of revisions, to which Neal agreed. This process of revision was more laborious than for any other novel Neal published and scholars blame it for many of the plot's inconsistencies. Neal later used sections cut during those revision processes to create other works, including the essay "The Character of the Real Yankees" ('' The New Monthly Magazine'' 1826), the fiction series "Sketches from Life" ('' The Yankee'' 1828–1829), the fictional fragment "Males and Females" (''The Yankee'' April 9, 1829), the short story "Otter-Bag, the Oneida Chief" ('' The Token'' 1829), and the novella ''Ruth Elder'' ( ''Brother Jonathan'' magazine 1843). Blackwood published ''Brother Jonathan'' in early July 1825 and had 2,000 copies printed by A. and R. Spottiswoode in London. Blackwood paid Neal 200 guineas with the promise to pay 100 more after he sold the first 1,000 copies. Fewer than 500 copies sold before Blackwood deemed the venture a failure and his relationship with Neal broke down the following winter. Neal agreed it was a failure, but claimed it would have been a success had Blackwood allowed him to publish a story closer to the original manuscript. Neal claimed that Cooper's publisher,
Charles Wiley Charles Wiley (1782–1826) was an American bookseller, printer and the founder of the business that, under the direction of his son John Wiley, became an academic publisher, and eventually the current organization John Wiley & Sons. Beginnings ...
, agreed to publish ''Brother Jonathan'' in the US but never followed through. No records from Wiley exist to confirm. As late as autumn 1828 and back in his home state of Maine, Neal continued pressuring Blackwood for the additional 100-guinea payment to no avail. Blackwood maintained that fewer than 500 copies had sold by that point.


Themes


Depicting Americans

Neal dedicated a large proportion of ''Brother Jonathan'' to the documentation of the peculiarities of the American people, particularly New Englanders. American studies scholar Winifred Morgan claimed that no other author before him had attempted to craft such a vivid and extensive portrayal in literature. As with much of his other literary work, Neal pursued the
American literary nationalist American literary nationalism was a literary movement in the United States in the early-to mid 19th century, which consisted of American authors working towards the development of a distinct American literature. Literary figures such as Henry Wads ...
goal of increasing cultural recognition of the US within the
anglophone world Speakers of English are also known as Anglophones, and the countries where English is natively spoken by the majority of the population are termed the '' Anglosphere''. Over two billion people speak English , making English the largest languag ...
. To that end, he dedicated a great deal of space to scenes of distinctive American cultural events, customs, accents,
colloquialism Colloquialism (), also called colloquial language, everyday language or general parlance, is the style (sociolinguistics), linguistic style used for casual (informal) communication. It is the most common functional style of speech, the idiom norm ...
s, dress, cuisine, and characters. The novel nevertheless presented readers with conflicting ideas about what it means to be an American and a New Englander. The result, according to Morgan, is "the absolute impossibility of knowing anything for certain". The novel's title refers to the national emblem,
Brother Jonathan Brother Jonathan is the personification of New England. He was also used as an emblem of the U.S. in general, and can be an allegory of capitalism. His too-short pants, too-tight waistcoat and old-fashioned style reflect his taste for inexpensi ...
, exemplified by the novel's protagonist, Walter Harwood. Neal chose the name because it was used by his British contemporaries as a derogatory term for Americans, particularly those from his native New England region. The emblem had been developing for decades as a minor self-referential device in American literature, but saw full development in this novel into the personification of American national character. Though Brother Jonathan was initially considered to personify just the New England states, Neal advocated for Americans to accept him as a representation for the entire country. Uncle Sam replaced Brother Jonathan in this regard later in the nineteenth century.


National coming of age

Among other things, ''Brother Jonathan'' is a coming-of-age story about both the protagonist growing into manhood and about the new American nation as it is born in the
American Revolution The American Revolution was an ideological and political revolution that occurred in British America between 1765 and 1791. The Americans in the Thirteen Colonies formed independent states that defeated the British in the American Revolut ...
. For Walter, this is exemplified by his transition from a rural upbringing in Connecticut to urban life in New York City. Once in New York, Walter observes with disgust as wealthy city dwellers at his boarding house clean themselves with a common towel and toothbrush, comb their hair with their fingers, and arrange their collars and cravats to hide wear marks and stains. Yet, he is left feeling shame over his own unsophisticated country appearance. On the one hand, exposure in New York to urban sophistication, love interests, and war corrupts his natural naivety. On the other, Neal exalts Walter's provinciality in contrast to the elites, showing him better suited for self-governance. Neal used Walter to stand in for the American people as a naturally republican society oppressed by outside British control. According to
cultural studies Cultural studies is an interdisciplinary field that examines the political dynamics of contemporary culture (including popular culture) and its historical foundations. Cultural studies researchers generally investigate how cultural practices re ...
researcher Jörg Thomas Richter, the stage coach that transported Walter to New York also exemplifies this natural American republicanism, as it depicts a curious mix of animals, cargo, and passengers of varying social status, all traveling together. He also argues that the character on the stage coach smoking a pipe dangerously close to a keg of gunpowder suggests that heterogeneous egalitarianism might have explosive consequences for the nation. Pointing to other negative consequences of this egalitarianism, Neal depicts a vulgar display from New Yorkers in a Declaration of Independence celebration and poor discipline among Continental troops.


Cultural diversity

Neal's earlier novel ''Seventy-Six'' depicts the Revolutionary War as a moment of national unification, but ''Brother Jonathan'' explores the same event as a portrait of the nation's complex cultural diversity. One example is how each novel's protagonist views his father. The father figure in ''Seventy-Six'' is a hero, whereas in ''Brother Jonathan'' he may be one of two different men, both of whom demonstrate significant character flaws. To illustrate cultural diversity in the
Thirteen Colonies The Thirteen Colonies, also known as the Thirteen British Colonies, the Thirteen American Colonies, or later as the United Colonies, were a group of Kingdom of Great Britain, British Colony, colonies on the Atlantic coast of North America. Fo ...
, ''Brother Jonathan'' features colloquialisms and accents specific to Black Americans, American Indians, Southerners, New Englanders, and others. Neal likely meant this as a challenge to the concept of the United States as a unified nation and to stress the ideal of egalitarianism. The novel also explores relationships between culturally different characters and features a mixed-race protagonist. The darker side of these cross-cultural interactions is exemplified by the graveyard in Gingertown as a haunting
Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
symbol for "the legacy of the American colonial project... fertilized and poisoned with the blood of conquered and the conqueror alike", according to literature scholar Matthew Wynn Sivils. However, unlike the mass death scene at the end of Neal's earlier novel ''Logan'', which killed off every major character, ''Brother Jonathan''s ending kills off two Indigenous characters and leaves the two mixed-race characters alive. Historian Matthew Pethers interprets this as Neal's take on the
vanishing Indian ''Playing Indian'' is a 1998 nonfiction book by Philip J. Deloria, which explores the history of the conflicted relationship white America has with Native American peoples. It explores the common historical and contemporary societal pattern of non ...
: the common literary trope that depicts American Indians as a people vanishing to make way for Anglo-Americans as inheritors of the American landscape. In this version, the inheritors are a mixed-race people of both English and Indigenous descent.


Sex

As with nearly all of Neal's novels, ''Brother Jonathan'' includes scenes much more sexually explicit than its contemporaries. Walter seduces Emma, and like in many of Neal's earlier novels, the male protagonist demonstrates guilt after committing sexual misdeeds. The story explores the consequences of those actions for both men and women. Walter also grows in his views on female sexual virtue after becoming more acquainted with women of varying sexual activity in New York. He comes to dismiss virtuous women and praise the promiscuous as those who "fall, not because of their being worse – but because of their being better, than usual". Publisher William Blackwood warned that "the pictures you give of seduction &c. are such as would make your work a sealed book to nine tenths of ordinary readers". Scholar Fritz Fleischmann acknowledged the historic importance of the novel's treatment of female virtue, male profligacy, and seduction of women by men, but asserted that Neal failed to craft a successful theme on the topic.


Style

Most of Neal's novels experimented with American dialects and colloquialisms, but ''Brother Jonathan'' is considered by many scholars to be Neal's best and most extensive attempt in this regard. Walter's dialogue in the first volume may be the earliest attempt in American literature to use a child's natural speech patterns to express a wide range of emotion. The novel's portrayal of Walter's transition to more adult language is described by scholar Harold C. Martin as "the oddest transformation... in all of American literature". The book's dialogue features phonetic transcriptions of speech patterns particular to New Englanders, Appalachian Virginians, rural Americans from the Mid-Atlantic, Indigenous Penobscot, Georgians, Scots, and enslaved Black Americans. Literature scholar and biographer Benjamin Lease found the representation of
American Indian English American Indian English or Native American English is a diverse collection of English dialects spoken by many American Indians and Alaska Natives, notwithstanding indigenous languages also spoken in the United States, of which only a few are in d ...
to be likely very accurate, and Martin posited it was likely closer to reality than the work of contemporary novelists like James Fenimore Cooper. Examples of Virginia colloquialisms in the novel include "I reckon", "jest", "mighty bad", and "leave me be". The book's use of English is cited in the definitions of multiple words by the compilers of the ''
Dictionary of American English ''A Dictionary of American English on Historical Principles'' (''DAE'') is a dictionary of terms appearing in English in the United States that was published in four volumes from 1938 to 1944 by the University of Chicago Press. Intended to pick up ...
'', ''
The Oxford English Dictionary The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' (''OED'') is the first and foundational historical dictionary of the English language, published by Oxford University Press (OUP). It traces the historical development of the English language, providing a com ...
'', and ''
A Dictionary of Americanisms ''A Dictionary of Americanisms on Historical Principles'' is a dictionary of English words and phrases that originated in the United States. The two-volume dictionary was edited by Mitford M. Mathews and was published in 1951 by University of ...
''. In the "Unpublished Preface" to ''Rachel Dyer'' (1828), Neal himself claimed the representation of American speech in ''Brother Jonathan'' as central to American literary nationalism – a movement that sought to develop an American literature distinct from British precedent. In the novel itself, Neal used dialogue by the character Edith Cummin to express the predominant literary sentiment he opposed: "We all ''say'' that which none of us would ''write''". Lease felt his intention was successful: "Neal's adventurous experiments contributed significantly to our colloquial tradition." Those experiments stood at the time in stark and controversial contrast to the broadly accepted literary standard of classical English and to efforts by contemporaries like
Noah Webster Noah ''Nukh''; am, ኖህ, ''Noḥ''; ar, نُوح '; grc, Νῶε ''Nôe'' () is the tenth and last of the pre-Flood patriarchs in the traditions of Abrahamic religions. His story appears in the Hebrew Bible (Book of Genesis, chapters 5– ...
to downplay regional variation in
American English American English, sometimes called United States English or U.S. English, is the set of variety (linguistics), varieties of the English language native to the United States. English is the Languages of the United States, most widely spoken lan ...
. ''Brother Jonathan'' introduced technical devices for conveying natural speech diction that no author used before Neal and that were not copied by his successors. Martin described it as a "rudimentary... choppy style, aided by eccentric punctuation". The novel's prolific use of italics and
diacritic A diacritic (also diacritical mark, diacritical point, diacritical sign, or accent) is a glyph added to a letter or to a basic glyph. The term derives from the Ancient Greek (, "distinguishing"), from (, "to distinguish"). The word ''diacriti ...
s convey the stresses and rhythm of natural speech and peculiarities of regional accents. The speech of a Connecticut farmer is thus captured for the reader: "''In'' făct – ''I'' thoŭght – ''mȳ'' tĭme – ''hăd'' cŏme – sŭre enŏugh – I guĕss." In many cases, dialogue between multiple characters runs together in a single paragraph to convey passion. This experiment came after Neal played with omitting identifying dialogue tags in ''Seventy-Six'' (1823) and before he began omitting quotation marks in ''
Rachel Dyer ''Rachel Dyer: A North American Story'' is a Gothic historical novel by American writer John Neal. Published in 1828 in Maine, it is the first bound novel about the Salem witch trials. Though it garnered little critical notice in its day, it ...
'' (1828). Literature scholar Maya Merlob described the novel's less-intelligible examples as "ludicrous dialogue" that Neal concocted to subvert British literary norms and prototype a new literature as distinctly American. Neal may also have been mimicking common speech patterns in order to make his novel appealing to a broader, and less educated, audience.


Contemporary critique

Critical reception of ''Brother Jonathan'' was mixed but mostly warm. Most of the positive criticism was qualified by commentary on the novel's shortcomings, such as what '' The Ladies' Monthly Museum'' published: "the striking delineations of New England manners are interesting as well as amusing, notwithstanding their coarseness." Of Neal's previous novels, only ''Logan'' and ''Seventy-Six'' had been published in the UK. Compared to those, ''Brother Jonathan'' received more attention from British critics. The ''Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review'' praised the earlier two novels, for instance, but was much more enthusiastic about ''Brother Jonathan''. Almost all critics found the novel puzzling. American critics largely ignored the novel, as did readers in both the US and UK.


Depiction of Americans

Among American readers and critics who were aware of ''Brother Jonathan'', most were angered by its
caricature A caricature is a rendered image showing the features of its subject in a simplified or exaggerated way through sketching, pencil strokes, or other artistic drawings (compare to: cartoon). Caricatures can be either insulting or complimentary, a ...
s of American speech and customs. Returning to his native Portland, Maine, two years after publishing the novel, Neal found former friends refusing to meet with him. He received threats, found printed denunciations posted throughout town, and got heckled in the street. The formerly friendly journalist
Joseph T. Buckingham Joseph Tinker Buckingham (December 21, 1779''Cyclopaedia of American literature'Historical Magazine'' – April 10, 1861) was an American journalist and politician in New England. He rose from humble beginnings to become an influential conser ...
of ''The New-England Galaxy'' in nearby Boston lambasted the novel's "gross and vulgar caricatures of New-England customs and language". In contrast, Sumner Lincoln Fairfield of the ''New York Literary Gazette'' praised the novel as a "great success", particularly in its characterization of Americans. In stark contrast to the Americans, British critics praised ''Brother Jonathan''s realistic depiction of American language and habits as its chief achievement. ''
The Literary Gazette ''The Literary Gazette'' was a British literary magazine, established in London in 1817 with its full title being ''The Literary Gazette, and Journal of Belles Lettres, Arts, Sciences''. Sometimes it appeared with the caption title, "London Lit ...
'' praised it as "what an American novel should be: American in its scenes, actors, and plot". ''Dumfries Monthly Magazine'' said "'Brother Jonathan' is the first publication of the kind that introduces us to anything like an accurate... acquaintance with the inhabitants of the great continent – aborigines as well as colonists." In a mostly negative review, the '' British Critic'' instructed readers to "skip or skim" most of the novel to get to "the vivid and eccentric pictures of American life and character with which it abounds." On the other hand,
John Bowring Sir John Bowring , or Phraya Siamanukulkij Siammitrmahayot, , , group=note (17 October 1792 – 23 November 1872) was a British political economist, traveller, writer, literary translator, polyglot and the fourth Governor of Hong Kong. He was a ...
claimed that
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assailed the novel as "the most execrable stuff that ever fell from mortal pen." Neal, who served as Bentham's secretary for more than a year following the novel's release, claimed Bowring libelously manufactured this quote.


Sexual content

Many reviewers decried the novel's sexual content as offensive. The ''British Critic'' summarized the novel's contents as "the adventures of profligates, misanthropes, maniacs, liars, and louts". David Macbeth Moir claimed Neal demonstrated "a deficiency of just taste in what is proper for the public palate" and declared the novel "unfit for a circle of female readers". He continued: "Need I allude to such things as elaborate plans for female seduction, or pictures of male profligacy which startle while they astonish, and nauseate while they create interest."


Excessive but powerful

Many critics complained that the story was hard to follow. '' The New Monthly Magazine'' in London felt that ''Brother Jonathan'' was less excessive than ''Logan'' or ''Seventy-Six'', but still disappointingly unrestrained. The British ''
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'' called it a failure, saying "the general character of the style is that of exaggeration". One reviewer for the ''British Critic'' described the novel's characters as exaggerated, referring to them as "stalking moody spectres with glaring eyeballs and inflated nostrils, towering above the common height, and exhibiting the play of their muscles and veins through their clothes in the most trivial action". William Hazlitt of the ''
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'' felt that the novel tried too hard to amplify mundane aspects of American life: "In the absence of subjects of real interest, men make themselves an interest out of nothing, and magnify mole-hills into mountains." The French ' praised the narration and dialogue as poetic and eloquent, but also scattered and impossible to understand. Moir predicted commercial failure for the book on the grounds that readers had no patience for such a demanding work, saying that Neal is "too fond of making a great deal of every thing". Neal himself admitted to the novel's excesses, blaming them on his quest for originality: "I, wishing to avoid what is common, am apt to run off into what is not only uncommon, but unnatural, and even absurd." Despite criticizing the novel's exaggerated style, ''The New Monthly Magazine'' admitted it "display dthroughout the marks of great intellectual power." The ''Edinburgh Literary Journal'' called it "full of vigour and originality". ''The Literary Gazette'' claimed "it is a work no one could read through without acknowledging the author's powers." When reviewing a Cooper novel in 1827, the same magazine claimed ''Logan'', ''Seventy-Six'', and ''Brother Jonathan'' to be "full of faults, but still full of power" and successful at positioning the author as Cooper's chief competitor. Moir also offered praise: "It is extremely powerful – and, what is more to the purpose, its power is of a kind that is unhackneyed and original." The ''Literary Chronicle and Weekly Review'' asserted "there are few novels – few indeed, which display so much talent or possess such a fearful interest as ''Brother Jonathan''. Commenting on both the novel's power and excesses,
Peter George Patmore Peter George Patmore (baptized 1786; died 1855) was an English author. Life The son of Peter Patmore, a dealer in plate and jewellery, he was born in his father's house on Ludgate Hill, London. Patmore refused to go into his father's business, an ...
supposed that if ''Brother Jonathan'' was the anonymous author's first work, it was "destined to occupy a permanent place in the very foremost rank of his age's literature..... But if its author has written two or three such works, we almost despair of his ever writing a better."


Modern views

Twenty-first-century readers are generally unaware of ''Brother Jonathan''. Among scholars familiar with the work, many consider it bad or a failure.


Realism

Scholars who have praised ''Brother Jonathan'' often focus on the realism achieved in the novel's depiction of American characters and scenes. Fleischmann felt it was the novel's greatest achievement. Lease and fellow literature scholars Hans-Joachim Lang and
Arthur Hobson Quinn Arthur is a common male given name of Brythonic origin. Its popularity derives from it being the name of the legendary hero King Arthur. The etymology is disputed. It may derive from the Celtic ''Artos'' meaning “Bear”. Another theory, more wi ...
claimed that this level of realism was uniquely high for the early nineteenth century. Lease and Lang claimed that "to find a counterpart of the power and subtlety... it is necessary to turn to the best of
Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...
and Melville." Biographer Irving T. Richards called it "flat, crass realism, of an excellent sort". Authors of the ''Literary History of the United States'' praised the "extraordinary fidelity" of the depiction of American speech.


Complexity

Many scholars have judged the novel's plot to be overly complex. Richards referred to it as "a most inharmonious whole" and Fleischmann called it "an ill-designed shambles". The plot was "brilliant yet exasperating" according to biographer Donald A. Sears, while Morgan called it "overstuffed". Sivils called ''Brother Jonathan'' a "hodgepodge of a novel" that attempted to combine too many different genres and to document too much about American life. Richards and Richter both complained of an incongruous mixture of realism and fantastical Gothic devices, which Lease and Lang referred to as "vast quantities of Gothic mystification". Richter and Sears both felt that the narrative shifted abruptly between following Walter Harwood and Jonathan Peters. Fleischmann and Lease contended that Walter's sudden transformation "from a virtuous lad of countrified looks to an elegant profligate" is unwarranted. Fleischmann went on to argue that Walter's jealousy is too intense given the limited interactions between Edith and Jonathan. Martin argued that the plot's excesses and inconsistencies were accentuated by Neal's experiments in diction and syntax. Referring to this mix of style experiments, American realism, Gothic devices, and an excessive plot, scholar Alexander Cowie summarized: "To see unity in the vast conglomeration of ''Brother Jonathan'' is impossible."


References


Citations


Sources

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * {{Refend


External links

* ''Brother Jonathan'' available at
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vol. Ivol. IIvol. III
*
Brother Jonathan
' available at
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1825 American novels American historical novels Books by John Neal (writer) Novels about Native Americans Novels set in the American colonial era Novels set during the American Revolutionary War Novels set in New York City Novels set in New England William Blackwood books Works published anonymously