Kelroy

Book excerpt: Kelroy, a nearly-forgotten 1812 novel by Rebecca Rush, combines the refinement of the novel of manners with the Gothic novel’s hidden evil to tell the story of the star-crossed lovers Emily Hammond and the romantic Kelroy, whose romance is doomed by the machinations of Emily’s mother. Set in the elite world of Philadelphia’s Atlantic Rim society, Kelroy transcends the genre of sentimental romance to expose the financial pressures that motivate Mrs. Hammond’s gambles. As she sacrifices her daughter to maintain the appearance of urbane wealth, Mrs. Hammond emerges as one of the most compellingly detestable figures in early American literature. Appendices include materials on gender, economics, and marriage; games and dancing; and gambling and the lottery in early urban America. A group of illustrations of early-nineteenth-century Philadelphia is also included.