Dal neoclassico al classico: John Neal e la coscienza letteraria americana

This is a study of the works of John Neal (Portland, 1793-1876), American author who promoted national literature in a series of novels, articles, poems, short stories. The book takes into consideration his first poems ("The Battle of Niagara") and his novels, from "Keep Cool" to "Rachel Dyer, A North American Story" (1828). The author argues that John Neal's experimentalism in fiction promoted the discovery of the great themes of American fiction, such as the Indians, American politics, and the Salem Trials. Influenced by A. W. Schlegel, Neal would in turn inspire Edgar Allan Poe, and Nathaniel Hawthorne.