Cindy Weinstein radically revises our understanding of nineteenth-century sentimental literature. Arguing that these novels are far more complex than critics have suggested, Weinstein expands the archive of sentimental novels to include some of the more popular, though under-examined writers, and shows how canonical texts can take on new meaning when read in the context of these novels. She demonstrates the aesthetic and political complexities of this influential genre and its impact on Stowe, Twain and Melville.