THE FIRST GREAT AMERICAN NOVEL: IT WAS UNCLE TOM'S CABIN.

STOWE, Harriet Beecher, 1811-1896; UNCLE Tom's Cabin (Book : Stowe); 19TH century American fiction; HOCHMAN, Barbara; UNCLE Tom's Cabin & the Reading Revolution: Race, Literacy, Childhood & Fiction 1851-1911 (Book); DE Forest, John William, 1826-1906

The article discusses the history of the reception of Harriet Beecher Stowe's novel "Uncle Tom's Cabin," beginning with its assessment as the first great American novel by the writer John W. De Forest. Particular emphasis is paid to the book "Uncle Tom's Cabin and the Reading Revolution," by Barbara Hochman, which examines the reception of Stowe's novel shortly following its publication in the mid 19th-century.