Sentiment and Celebrity: Nathaniel Parker Willis and the Trials of Literary Fame - Hardcover

Although chiefly known today for his ties to Fanny Fern and Harriet Jacobs, N. P. Willis is a fascinating figure in his own right, and this book goes a long way toward explaining his significance. Baker does a fine job of exploring Willis's career while making a solid contribution to our understanding of the culture of celebrity, fashion, and society in antebellum America. (Michael Winship, University of Texas at Austin)

Sentiment and Celebrity tells the story of a man the New York Times once called "the most talked-about author in America". A widely admired, if controversial master of the sentimental appeal poet and "magazinist" Nathaniel Parker Willis (1806-1867) was a pioneer in the modern business of celebrity. By charting the shape and thrust of the various controversies that surrounded Willis, this book shows how the cultural and commercial impulses that fostered the development of antebellum America's love affair with fame and fashion drew power and sustenance from the concurrent allure of genteel cultivation and sentiment.