Underwriting

Eric Wertheimer is Associate Professor of American Literature at Arizona State University. He is also the author of Imagined Empires: Incas, Aztecs, and the New World of American Literature, 1771-1876 (1998).

"[A]rresting . . . Underwriting unfolds in a series of scenes—the chapters are titled 'Philadelphia,' 'Boston,' 'Hartford,' 'New York City'—capsules of the writers' texts and lives. These often impressionistic accounts elegantly trace the intricate, ghostly links between language and experience in what may, after all, be called the performative mode." - Joseph Fichtelberg (Early American Literature) Wertheimer "provides insight into the writing of American literature and several of its key figures, making a suggestive argument about their connections to nineteenth-century America's growing commercial orientation." - American Historical Review "Underwriting is a book of genuine intellectual ambition that brings together a range of historical materials, critical methodologies, and literary texts, yet it does all of this with such care and intelligence that nearly every page is compelling. There is much to admire in this genuine contribution to our ongoing appraisal of key figures in American literary history." - Jay Grossman (Northwestern University)

• Contents Acknowledgmentsix Preface: Claimsxi Introduction1 1Philadelphia 35 2Boston63 3Hartford79 4New York City98 5Boston118 Notes141 Works Cited171 Index183