''The Yemassee: A Romance of Carolina'' is an 1835 historical novel by American writer
William Gilmore Simms
William Gilmore Simms (April 17, 1806 – June 11, 1870) was an American writer and politician from the American South who was a "staunch defender" of slavery. A poet, novelist, and historian, his ''History of South Carolina'' served as the defin ...
. It was a popular bestseller during its time and became Simms's best known novel.
[Hart, James D]
The Popular Book: A History of America's Literary Taste
p. 80 (1951)[Hagstette, Todd.]
The Yemassee. A Romance of Carolina
Simms Library, University of South Carolina, Retrieved 29 September 2014
Overview
Simms had recently published his book ''Guy Rivers'' and its success convinced him that writings on American themes could be effective. His first reference to the book that became ''The Yemassee'' came in a letter dated July 19, 1834, in which he wrote that he was "digesting the plan of an Indian tale—a story of an early settlement and of an old tribe in Carolina".
Influenced by the historical romances by Sir
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet, playwright and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'', ''Rob Roy (n ...
, the book's plot is set in the low country of
South Carolina
)''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no)
, anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind"
, Former = Province of South Carolina
, seat = Columbia
, LargestCity = Charleston
, LargestMetro = ...
before and during the
Yemassee War
The Yamasee War (also spelled Yamassee or Yemassee) was a conflict fought in South Carolina from 1715 to 1717 between British settlers from the Province of Carolina and the Yamasee and a number of other allied Native American peoples, includ ...
in 1715-1717. It was released in April 1835 to positive critical reviews.
[Wimsatt, Mary Ann]
The Major Fiction of William Gilmore Simms: Cultural Traditions and Literary Form
Chapter 2 (1989) The ''New York Times'', for example, wrote of the reviewer's "extreme delight" in the book which "permanently established" a reputation for the author. The ''Baltimore American'' wrote that the book put Simms "among the first class of modern novelists".
[Guilds, John Caldwell. ''Simms: A Literary Life''. University of Arkansas Press, 1992: 60. ]
References
1835 American novels
Novels set in South Carolina
Novels set in the 1710s
Harper & Brothers books
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