Wieland: or, The Transformation: An American Tale and Other Stories

by Charles Brockden Brown, Caleb Crain (Contributor)

Called a "remarkable story" by John Greenleaf Whittier and described by John Keats as "very powerful," Wieland, Charles Brockden Brown's disturbing 1798 tale of terror, is a masterpiece involving spontaneous combustion, disembodied voices, religious mania, and a gruesome murder based on a real-life incident.

This Modern Library Paperback Classic includes Wieland's fragmentary sequel, Memoirs of Carwin the Biloquist, as well as several other important but hard-to-find Brockden Brown short stories, including "Thessalonica," "Walstein's School of History," and "Death of Cicero." This collection also reproduces the newspaper account of the murder that inspired Wieland.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Horror, Gothic, 18th Century, Literature, American

412 pages, Paperback

Published June 11, 2002

About the author

Charles Brockden Brown (January 17, 1771 – February 22, 1810), an American novelist, historian, and editor of the Early National period, is generally regarded by scholars as the most ambitious and accomplished US novelist before James Fenimore Cooper. He is the most frequently studied and republished practitioner of the "early American novel," or the US novel between 1789 and roughly 1820. Although Brown was by no means the first American novelist, as some early criticism claimed, the breadth and complexity of his achievement as a writer in multiple genres (novels, short stories, essays and periodical writings of every sort, poetry, historiography, reviews) makes him a crucial figure in US literature and culture of the 1790s and first decade of the 19th century, and a significant public intellectual in the wider Atlantic print culture and public sphere of the era of the French Revolution.

Reviews

[Bryan · Rating 4 out of 5]

What interests me the most about Wieland is the time-span of its narrative, between the end of the American Revolution and the beginning of the French Revolution. Brown clearly wants his story of a 'ventriloquist' (not Edgar Bergen --- here, someone skilled in tricking others to ascribe his 'thrown voice' to an occult authority) to be read as some sort of historical allegory! But, if you are not interested in Brown as a political thinker, this very strange novel can also be read as a kind of agoraphobic paranoid narrative of post-revolutionary settlers coping with cultural displacement and puritanical repression. All of the gothic elements are in place, along with an increasingly unreliable first-person narrator who recalls the governess in James' Turn Of Screw. Wieland was written a few generations before Poe emerged, but the aesthetic of brutality and suffocation is very much a prototype.

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 4 out of 5]

I often have a hard time slogging through novels of this time period, late 18th-early-19th century and it's not because I don't appreciate the often-Gothic conventions. I just tend to find the prose antiquated in a way that is charmless and dry. Certainly, I can't say it's the length that gets in the way.
"Wieland" is a wonderful exception, and on so many levels. Sure, it's your typical "weird events in the night" scenario, dark and brooding and weird. But it stands out for being that rare novel in which everyone is basically a turd of a person who contributes to the horrific ruin of everyone else. No one escapes unscathed. The main horrors are religion and religious mania, too, which might surprise you. Even more surprising is the deft narration of a female somewhat-out-of-archtype for the time narrator. Clara Wieland isn't married, lives alone, likes dudes but doesn't feel obligated to settle down, and she only faints occasionally when things get too stressful. She is a fine and able chronicler of the evil machinations of the satanic Carwin and organized religion itself.
The rest of this volume contain works of lesser quality, classically-focused tales and an unfinished autobiography (fictional, natch) of "Wieland"'s villain, which is an awesome concept.

[Jenn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wieland, his first novel, tells the story of a religious fanatic who builds a temple in the seclusion of his own farm, but then is struck dead, apparently by spontaneous combustion. Several years later, his children, in turn, begin to hear voices around the family property, voices which alternately seem to be commanding good or evil and which at times imitate denizens of the farm. Are the voices somehow connected to a mysterious visitor who has begun hanging around? Are they commands from God? From demons? Suffice it to say things get pretty dicey before we find out the truth.
This is a terrific creepy story which obviously influenced the course of American fiction. Brown develops an interesting serious theme of the role that reason can play in combating superstition and religious mania, but keeps the action cranking and the mood deliciously gloomy. The language is certainly not modern but it is accessible and generally understandable. It's a novel that should be better known and more widely read, if not for historical reasons then just because it's great fun.

[Gabby G. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Surprisingly enjoyable for such an old book. I read Wieland as a part of my class on the American Revolution. The thesis we hold for this book being that Wieland and other gothic literature inspired modern horror, and that Wieland was a standout example of being exceptionally modern in a non modern setting.
The writing style was admittedly very slow, and at time difficult to understand and sluggish to get through. I found that highlighting words or looking them up when I didn't understand them led to the reading experience being easier. After a while you adjust to the unique style and are able to figure out the meaning from context clues.
I was fond of the characters. I thought that Wieland and Pleyel served a nice dynamic, being foils of each other. Though I wish we saw more of their conversations and debates, it would make analysis of the book and its politics easier anyways. Clara, the main character, is a standout for being a female character in a pre 20th century novel whose main personality trait isn't being a woman. We don't even learn of her gender until the third chapter, a deliberate choice which highlights the lack of innate differences between men and women. Clara is intelligent, resourceful, emotionally reserved and composed, and logical beyond anything else. Traits that are first of all, not commonly associated with women, but especially not female characters. I've read a lot about Clara, and how her character and arc serves as both a parody and critique of the romance genre of the time (called "sentimental" books) but it's safe to say that I like her character both in the world of Wieland, and as a political message outside of Wieland.
As a horror novel, I can't say it was too scary, some scenes and concepts were theoretically frightening, but in practice the book was too slow paced to really be tense or alarming. Though this is a fixture of modern horror that utilizes shock and fast pacing over slow psychological tension, like Wieland uses. Though I will say, that Wieland did do something notable for the time in the gothic genre; it didn't explain everything. Most gothic novels of the time would reassure the reader at the end by having explanations for everything, which did make the book less scary, but also prevented people from suing the publisher or accusing the writer of immoral behavior and satanism. Wieland though, has plenty of moments, or important plot points that are horrifying in concept, and just are never given a reasonable explanation. Some would call this lazy, but I believe it was an intentional choice to frighten the reader. The unexplained is always more terrifying than the explained.
Through writing this review, I've bumped my own score up to four stars. There are plenty of things to critique Wieland over, but most of them are symptoms of reading an older book, so I don't think it's fair to complain over these things. Overall, I enjoyed Wieland, and if anyone else has the same niche interest in early American literature, I'd probably recommend it. 10/10, would recommend.

[Gwen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had this book on my shelf from a Gothic Literature class in college, and I never read it until now. It's quite an old story (1798) and it's difficult for me to not be distracted by the customary treatment of women in that time. I am certainly intrigued that the author chose a woman as the narrator. Of course, it took me several chapters to even realize it was a woman or to get into the story and know what was going on. I guess it's like that with most books written in a much older time period than our own.
Anyway, overall, I was definitely intrigued and curious as to what was amiss, and the story was pretty good with holding suspense. However, I'm really frustrated that people were so passive aggressive and had such poor communication skills back then (or that it was the customary way to be). People aren't mind readers and trying to guess and figure out what someone thinks and feels based on the way they said this and the way they looked at that isn't really the best way to go about things. It's exhausting and it's exhausting reading the characters do all of this! I really think 99% of the mess that happens in this story could've been avoided if people simply talked directly and frankly to one another.
It's really more of a suspense thriller or murder mystery with a little bit (or a lot!) of drama than a horror fiction. It wasn't quite what I expected it to be, however, I did enjoy the explanation of mysterious events (all save one!). We never find out what really happened to the father when he was spontaneous burned in flames. Everything else suspected to be divinatory gets a realistic and scientific explanation, so, I wonder why that was left out or if it was something I'm supposed to easily figure out. Also, I've never heard of a "biloquist" and I think the author made it up (can't find much about it other than this fiction when I search on google).
Overall, a "meh" book. I don't hate it. I don't love it. Not really one I would recommend to anyone. It takes a long time to get into the story, and the characters are so over the top dramatic that it gets a bit frustrating at times. Not sure what sense or moral to make of the whole ordeal at the end, either. Maybe it's social commentary on religion and our willingness to believe what we want to believe despite little or contrary evidence to support those beliefs.
As far as the fragmentary stories at the end, those were quite violent and despondent, like a dystopian society. No feel-goods there! Not for me.

[Tim Petersik · Rating 4 out of 5]

Kind of an early Stephen King: Mysterious voices that summon people's behavior, murders, and unexplained phenomena...all in the course of a mystery. It's at its strongest and most compelling BEFORE you learn what's going on. Pretty creepy, really. After that, it's a less interesting denouement. Ends with a totally unnecessary chapter containing a second morality tale. So...my 4 stars are really for the first 90% of the book.

[spoon · Rating 3 out of 5]

a bit tedious to read, but also gave me nightmares. this is some real horror shit.

[Ava Orofino · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for a class and it wasn’t bad, I don’t normally like this writing style, but the story itself was interesting.

[Amory Ross · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was assigned to read this book for my Colonial Literature class at Gettysburg College. Upon finding it after a move, I decided to return to it. I believe anyone interested in early American literature should read this book, especially fans of Edgar Allan Poe.

The story takes place on the banks of the Delaware River within sight of Philadelphia during colonial times. I immediately found this to be appealing considering I live quite close to the areas discussed in the book. It focuses on the concept of a biloquist, or the ability to mimic a voice to sound like someone else's.

The story focuses on a sister/ brother (and friends) living situation with a sneaky past. There had been a mysterious death earlier involving their father's spontaneous combustion. This isolated group are interested in the old style times of high brow literature and conversation topics.

It is this circle of comfort that is penetrated by an outsider who has a curious ability of mimicking people's voices. The stranger is capable of manipulating situations he sees fit and characters are observed running outside of their houses in fear only to thrust themselves back into the house out of curiosity. The story has a feeling of dread and gloom and darkness as it moves toward its climax.

To readers who live near Philadelphia, many of the areas can be researched on early maps. This research led me to the education that at least four creeks in the city had been paved over. It should be further noted that Edgar Allan Poe was a one-time resident of Philadelphia. Charles Brockden Brown's writing was rumored to be a source of inspiration for the famous Gothic writer.

One aspect of this book is the attachment at the end of a reprinted article Brown used as inspiration for his story.

One aspect against this book is that it feels fragmented in parts. Some parts have to be reread for clarity and other parts seem to be 'as-is.' It has a feeling of experimentation throughout.

I'm glad to have revisited this story as it was a quick read and entertaining at the same time. A novel that champions inspiration for great writers is certainly something to pay attention to. Read it from the viewpoint of a very impressionable Virginia cadet who was orphaned and taken in by a neglectful John Allan. It could change the way the book reads.

[Phillip · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is arguably the first gothic novel in American history, by one of the first important writers from the US. I read it because Brown was from Pennsylvania, and for 2025 my Halloween series on YouTube is about PA horror.

I didn't really enjoy the style of this novel. It's definitely a work of late nineteenth century fiction, with all the attendant stylistic flourishes and so, so, so much focus on just letting characters tell their own stories in incredibly extended pieces of dialogue (multiple chapters in some cases, of basically just uninterrupted monologuing) where they explain in excruciating details how they viewed every little thing in the world and what every torturously painful step in their logic for any decision was. And I find it incredibly boring. But that's a personal literary style preference.

On a thematic level, the novel is somewhat interesting, in part because of the explorations it makes of unconventional psychology and the relatively newly documented phenomenon of ventriloquism (which Brown calls biloquism). Much of the Wieland family's trouble comes from their devout religious fanaticism--Brown himself was from a Quaker background, so he knew something about strong religious beliefs. The father of Theodore Wieland and his sister Clara (who narrates the novel) invented his own religious doctrine which he brought with him from Germany to Pennsylvania, and after falling short of his supposedly divine mission to convert Indigenous people, he seemingly combusts or is killed by some kind of unexplained fireball. And then eventually Theodore Wieland (typically just called Wieland in the novel, even though that's also the narrator's last name, and presumably the last name of Theodore Wieland's wife after they get married, and then of their children) becomes convinced by something--it's not entirely clear whether it's the ventriloquism of Carwin or some other force--that it is God's will that he must kill his family, including his sister. If he weren't such a religious man, his rational brain--which Clara is at great pains to discuss extensively--likely would have told him that hearing voices telling him God wanted him to murder all his loved ones probably wasn't a great sign.
https://youtu.be/FHNkzuWDYE4

[Natacha Pavlov · Rating 5 out of 5]

"The impulses of love are so subtile and the influence of false reasoning, when enforced by eloquence and passion, so unbounded, that no human virtue is secured from degeneracy." 

My quest for early Gothic fiction led me to the first American rendition in Charles Brockden Brown's 'Wieland.' Published in 1798 and inspired by a gruesome true story of a New York farmer who thought he heard the voice of God, it's a novel—and gifted author—that I'm now shocked doesn't get enough attention in the list of (often lesser) contenders. 
Led by a headstrong female lead, it's a perfectly atmospheric and well-rounded tale, though at times the older, 'wordy-and-proper' English can feel dense. But that's all a rewarding part of being transported through literature. Most of Brown's novels are set in Pennsylvania, with themes of post-revolutionary American society like class, women's rights, and Enlightenment 'reason' and religious belief. Tellingly, he also inspired other greats like Poe and Hawthorne.

The Modern Library Classics edition (which is the edition I read) also has the unfinished sequel, along with other hard-to-find short stories that reflect his skill and nod to Antiquity.

CBB is definitely a new favorite whose other titles I'll be gathering.

[Mary · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't get me wrong. It was fantastic to finally read a story, in the midst of American lit, and I know the novel (as a form) was new at this point. But let's be clear. This book is terribly constructed. The ending concludes an entirely different novel than the one Brockden Brown actually wrote. At best, it's a borderline-mediocre gothic novel that anyone with an interest in writing/ literature can get a good laugh out of still seeing included in the canon. As in, "Seriously? This is what we're proud of?" ::facepalm::

[Kathryn · Rating 3 out of 5]

In my quest to read a work of popular fiction published during each U.S. presidential term (as part of my Presidential Reading Project), Wieland fit the bill, published in 1798 when John Adams was in office. It’s also noteworthy as the first significant novel written by an American-born writer.

Unfortunately, despite some genuinely terrifying moments and a gripping (if somewhat gruesome) premise–a religious fanatic hears voices that compel him to murder his wife and children–this early work of American Gothic fiction is more interesting as a novelty than as a must-read piece of literature.

[Brian · Rating 2 out of 5]

This gets a hearty meh. This is one of the first American novels, and it is an early Gothic novel. Brown suffers from a lot of telling in lieu of showing (many explanations come in the form of long speeches by characters), and I ended up being annoyed with his explanation of the suspense element.

The third quarter of the book was quite good, but the rest was frequently irritating.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is not a book I would read twice. It’s disturbing and confusing. It is only due to its obvious role in American Literature and historical context do I give it 4 stars. It’s definitely left me with ideas to ruminate with and fears and nightmares that will haunt. Maybe I speak alone but it disturbed me deeply how much of myself I found within all the characters.

[Jule · Rating 1 out of 5]

"It recounts the terrifying story of how Theodore Wieland is driven to madness and murder by a malign ventriloquist called Carwin."
The whole plot is so absurd and unbelievable! Not to mention late 18th century language. Did not enjoy this one very much. Edgar Huntly was better.

[Tocotin · Rating 2 out of 5]

It started out interesting with all the supernatural voices and with the terrifying scene of death, and then, I don't know, I'm just angry that all those phenomena had such a lame explanation. Oh well.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

the most bizarre book ever, seriously.

[Reuel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of a ghost story, if I remember correctly. ??

[Christa Forster · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of a series of books whose main character was named Clara (coincidence?)

Miah recommended, and it did not disappoint!

[Lila · Rating 2 out of 5]

good idea, poorly realized

[Rob · Rating 2 out of 5]

Brown tries to transplant English Gothic to American soil while scarcely altering it. The results are predictable: that is to say, it doesn't work.

[Robin · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jay Mehta · Rating 2 out of 5]

Don't bother. You have better things to do with your time.

[Rose · Rating 1 out of 5]

I hate this book
Worst book I've ever read

I had to read this book for a class as a freshman in highschool. This book is absolutely awful

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wow, this really slowed down my reading for the month of October. I'm glad I read this, but I agree with other reviewers that I liked it more in theory than in practice.