Title: Providence Tales and the Birth of American Literature
First published: 1999
Description: In colonial America, tales about the capture of English settlers by Native American war parties and the captives' subsequent suffering and privations were wildly popular among readers. In these captivity narratives, writers such as Mary Rowlandson, Jonathan Dickinson, and John Williams told autobiographical stories that combined images of brutal violence with examples of spiritual fortitude.

In their accounts, as well as in similar and equally popular tales of witchcraft, exploration, and shipwreck, lie the roots of a uniquely American literature, providing distinct patterns for later writers, from James Fenimore Cooper to Herman Melville. In Providence Tales and the Birth of American Literature, James D. Hartman uncovers the genesis of the captivity narrative in the English providence tale and its transformation in the seventeenth century.

Exploring the cultural context in which both English providence tales and their American counterparts emerged - focusing in particular on the influence of religious, scientific, and literary developments during this critical period - Hartman offers a provocative reassessment of the origins of American literature.
Subjects: History and criticism, American literature, English literature, Shipwrecks in literature, Witchcraft in literature, Geographical discoveries in literature, Supernatural in literature, Providence and government of God in literature, Indian captivities, English influences, American literature, history and criticism, colonial period, ca. 1600-1775, English literature, history and criticism, early modern, 1500-1700, American literature, foreign influences, Littérature américaine, Histoire et critique, Providence divine dans la littérature, Littérature anglaise, Influence anglaise, Découvertes géographiques dans la littérature, Prisonniers des Indiens d'Amérique, Surnaturel dans la littérature, Naufrages dans la littérature, Sorcellerie dans la littérature, Colonial period, Early modern, Englisch, Erzählung, Hexe, Märchen, Vorsehung, Amerikaans, Letterkunde, Voorzienigheid, Engels, Gevangenschap, Providence dans la littérature, Découvertes géographiques, Dans la littérature, Naufrages, Sorcellerie
Places: United States
Time periods: Colonial period, ca. 1600-1775, Early modern, 1500-1700
LC classification: PS195.P76 H37 1999