''The Yemassee: A Romance of Carolina'' is an 1835 historical novel by American writer

William Gilmore Simms William Gilmore Simms (April 17, 1806 – June 11, 1870) was a poet, novelist, politician and historian from the American South. His writings achieved great prominence during the 19th century, with Edgar Allan Poe pronouncing him the best novelis ...

. It was a popular bestseller during its time and became Simms's best known novel.Hart, James D
The Popular Book: A History of America's Literary Taste
p. 80 (1951)Hagstette, Todd.
The Yemassee. A Romance of Carolina
Simms Library, University of South Carolina, Retrieved 29 September 2014

Overview

Simms had recently published his book ''Guy Rivers'' and its success convinced him that writings on American themes could be effective. His first reference to the book that became ''The Yemassee'' came in a letter dated July 19, 1834, in which he wrote that he was "digesting the plan of an Indian tale—a story of an early settlement and of an old tribe in Carolina". Influenced by the historical romances by Sir

Walter Scott Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet (15 August 1771 – 21 September 1832), was a Scottish novelist, poet and historian. Many of his works remain classics of European literature, European and Scottish literature, notably the novels ''Ivanhoe'' (18 ...

, the book's plot is set in the low country of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

before and during the Yemassee War in 1715-1717. It was released in April 1835 to positive critical reviews.Wimsatt, Mary Ann
The Major Fiction of William Gilmore Simms: Cultural Traditions and Literary Form
Chapter 2 (1989) The ''New York Times'', for example, wrote of the reviewer's "extreme delight" in the book which "permanently established" a reputation for the author. The ''Baltimore American'' wrote that the book put Simms "among the first class of modern novelists".Guilds, John Caldwell. ''Simms: A Literary Life''. University of Arkansas Press, 1992: 60.

References

1835 American novels Novels set in South Carolina Novels set in the 1710s Harper & Brothers books {{1830s-novel-stub