Letters From an American Farmer

Hector St. John de Crevecoeur (1735-1813), a French-American writer, was responsible for the first American novel deemed successful throughout Europe.

With "e;Letters From an American Farmer"e;, Crevecoeur depicted the newly settled America as a country, and not just a system of colonies.

This epistolary novel gave America an identity, expounding on the concept of The American Dream, with its themes of equal opportunity and self-determination, while also exploring the damage and conflict caused by slavery, an institution to which Crevecoeur was strongly opposed. "e;Letters From an American Farmer"e; begins idealistically, the first few letters written in an idealistic tone, then expands to paint a full and vivid picture of a society in a state of turmoil, ravaged by civilization.

This work has been translated into several languages, a landmark literary achievement, as it helped transform the "e;New World"e; into America in the minds of Europeans.