One of the first American Gothic novels, Edgar Huntly () mirrors the social and Edgar Huntly or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker by Charles Brockden Brown. Charles Brockden Brown creates a mysterious, intriguing world in Edgar Huntly. He uses the gothic novel as an examination of the American subconscious, and. Edgar Huntly, Or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker (Penguin Classics) [Charles Brockden Brown, Norman S. Grabo] on *FREE* shipping on qualifying.

Goodreads helps you keep track of books you want to read. Do you wish Heart of Darkness painted colonists in a more positive light and stopped showing sympathy with native populations? Other reviewers comment on how long and boring this is, but I really enjoyed it! This book was not bad. In other words, “Dude, she doesn’t like you. Once, a log bridging a large chasm allows Huntly to escape a panther, and falls just as the panther is crossing over, saving Huntly’s life. I had some problems a couple of times — huntlg did Edgar Huntly disappear?

Clithero therefore thinks that what he is doing is an act of mercy instead of murder.

Jun 12, Steven Clark rated it it was amazing. Dec 17, Bill Kerwin rated it it was ok Shelves: I’m usually a big fan of long winded prose being a fan of most Victorian literature, but edgra book really tested my patience.

I usually try to avoid saying “boring” on here. Charles Brockden Brown is insane. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. Huntly decides to follow Clithero when he sleep walks.

Edgar Huntly; or, Memoirs of a Sleep-Walker by Charles Brockden Brown

If you have the mind of a year old like I do, try and find me a better book. There are some redeeming features of the story: I didn’t know there were questions about editions, so I felt like I was coming in to this mid-conversation. Clithero leads Huntly through rough countryside, but all this following doesn’t lead to Huntly learning much about the murder. I had issues with the way he spoke about things, and since it is supposed to be a personal letter, I understand that maybe “slip of the tongue” things may come out?

Another time, the path in the cave that Huntly bbrown leads right up to where Clithero is hiding.

From my experience, early American lit is just too nascent to be enjoyable; I’ll stick to post-Civil War stuff, methinks. He goes off on long tangents in his narrative, forgetting his original purpose to investigate a friend’s charlds. Then we get the next section, where he confronts the guy he saw digging under the tree, named Clithero. It provides the opportunity to give historical and cultural insight and at the same time, does so in language that does not alienate the 21st century reader.

You were a different timebut it’s a good story. Edgar Huntly, as a character, combines the instinct and battle intelligence of the Native Americans with the educated intelligence of an English man. Feb 15, Christian rated it liked it Shelves: Books by Charles Brockden Brown.

One might say he shows signs of having the Imp of the Perversewhich is when one does evil simply because it is evil. I expected way more of this book that what it gave me. The entire second half of the novel revolves around the travelings of Huntly as he tries to return home; this occurs because Huntly wakes up in the bottom of a cave which he entered into by sleep-walking.

Dec 10, Jon rated it it was bron. I expected the murder of Waldegrave to be central to the plot.

I skimmed a great deal more than I probably should have. I enjoy the idea of something like that, but once again I have this little voice in my head.

Edgar Huntly - Wikipedia

Views Read Edit View history. Such an ugly bloody bloody past you have. He is attacked by a pantherwhich he manages to kill and then drinks some of its blood and eats some of its flesh.

There’s another bit where the townspeople, without any sense of irony, are rude to a Lenni-Lenape woman, calling her greedy for wanting land in the town.

Huntlh don’t, by any means, think that Brown has hit the mark with Huntly, but what he does is something remarkable in its vharles right. Things got a bit easier halfway through but until then I had to force myself to wade through Edgar’s constant ruminations.

Although in some ways this book is important as a literary stepping stone, it fails as an individual work, especially by today’s standards.