Catharine maria sedgwick hope leslie

A writer of juvenile fiction, moral tales, and domestic literature as well as numerous novels, Sedgwick was a well-respected literary figure in New England before the appearance of Hope Leslie. But this novel is important to any critical assessment of her work because of its skillful use of historical materials and its ability to offer cultural criticism about the United States in the s through the literary medium of revisionary history. Although the novel was only a modest commercial and critical success, it did help Sedgwick's literary career, and it did further legitimate the role of the professional woman writer in America. Hope Leslie is a historical novel about Puritan New England that manages to address important social and cultural issues facing early-nineteenth-century America. Sedgwick turned to Puritan history during a period of great cultural interest in colonial history. During the s, after all, New Englanders were celebrating the bicentennial commemorations of the founding of Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay Colonies.