Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr

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Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr

Q: When did American literature begin?

Literature has existed in what is now the United States for as long as the people who lived there have been telling stories. Native American cultures have a rich history of oral literature. As a specific discipline viewed through the lens of European literature, American literature began in the early 17th century with the arrival of English-speaking Europeans in what would become the American colonies .

Q: Who are some important authors of American literature?

Notable authors of American literature include: Phillis Wheatley , who was the first Black woman to become a poet of note in the United States; Edgar Allan Poe , a standout of the Romantic era; Emily Dickinson , a poet who commanded a singular brilliance of style and vision; Mark Twain , a master of humor and realism; Ernest Hemingway , a novelist who articulated the disillusionment of the Lost Generation ; and Toni Morrison , a writer who centered her works on the experiences of Black Americans and received a Nobel Prize in 1993.

Q: What are the periods of American literature?

American literature is often divided into six major periods :

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Also known as: Caroline Thomas, Julie Caroline Ripley

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Née:: Julie Caroline Ripley

Born:: Feb. 13, 1825, Charleston, S.C., U.S.

Died:: Jan. 18, 1913, Rutland, Vt. (aged 87)

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Julia Caroline Ripley Dorr (born Feb. 13, 1825, Charleston, S.C., U.S.—died Jan. 18, 1913, Rutland, Vt.) was an American novelist and poet, notable for her novels that portrayed young women lifting themselves from poverty through education and persistence.

Julia Ripley married Seneca M. Dorr in 1847. She had enjoyed writing verse since childhood, but none had ever been published until her husband, without her knowledge, sent one of her poems to Union Magazine. In 1848 Sartain’s Magazine published one of her short stories as winner of a contest prize. She published her first book, Farmingdale (1854), a novel, under the pseudonym Caroline Thomas. Later novels, including Lanmere (1856), Sybil Huntington (1869), Expiation (1873), and In Kings’ Houses (1898), varied from domestic to gothic in style. Also published were Bride and Bridegroom (1873), a book of advice, three books of travel, and at least 10 volumes of verse. Dorr’s poetry, though rather conventional and sentimental, did evidence some grace, earning the notice of such men as Oliver Wendell Holmes and Ralph Waldo Emerson.

This article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.

American literature

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American literature

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Last Updated: May 15, 2025 • Article History

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When did American literature begin?

Who are some important authors of American literature?

What are the periods of American literature?

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American literature, the body of written works produced in the English language in the United States.

Like other national literatures, American literature was shaped by the history of the country that produced it. For almost a century and a half, America was merely a group of colonies scattered along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent—colonies from which a few hardy souls tentatively ventured westward. After a successful rebellion against the motherland, America became the United States, a nation. By the end of the 19th century this nation extended southward to the Gulf of Mexico, northward to the 49th parallel, and westward to the Pacific. By the end of the 19th century, too, it had taken its place among the powers of the world—its fortunes so interrelated with those of other nations that inevitably it became involved in two world wars and, following these conflicts, with the problems of Europe and East Asia. Meanwhile, the rise of science and industry, as well as changes in ways of thinking and feeling, wrought many modifications in people’s lives. All these factors in the development of the United States molded the literature of the country.

This article traces the history of American poetry, drama, fiction, and social and literary criticism from the early 17th century through the turn of the 21st century. For a description of the oral and written literatures of the Indigenous peoples of the Americas, see Native American literature. Though the contributions of African Americans to American literature are discussed in this article, see African American literature for in-depth treatment. For information about literary traditions related to, and at times overlapping with, American literature in English, see English literature and Canadian literature: Canadian literature in English.