Anne Bradstreet was a well - known author. Her works often dealt with family life and her personal experiences as a woman in the colonies. Another was Cotton Mather. He wrote on religious and historical topics, and his works had a great influence on the Puritan community.
In the 17th century, John Winthrop was an important figure who contributed to American literature through his writings. His works often reflected the Puritan ideology and the governance of the colonies. And Mary Rowlandson, with her account of her captivity among the Native Americans, was another notable author. Her work not only told a personal story but also gave a view of the interactions between the colonists and the natives.
Benjamin Franklin was one of the prominent figures. Although he is more known for his non - fictional works, his 'The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin' had elements that influenced American novel - writing. Another was Charles Brockden Brown. His works were some of the earliest examples of American Gothic novels. He explored themes like the human psyche and the dark side of human nature in the context of the young American nation.
F. Scott Fitzgerald was a very prominent author. His works, like 'The Great Gatsby', are still widely read today. He captured the essence of the Jazz Age with its glamour and underlying emptiness.
Edgar Allan Poe was a very prominent one. His works, such as 'The Fall of the House of Usher', are full of Gothic elements like decay, madness, and the supernatural.
Mark Twain was a very prominent one. His works like 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' are well - known. Also, Henry James, who was famous for his novels that explored the upper - class society and the clash of American and European cultures.
Mark Twain is a very prominent one. His works like 'The Adventures of Tom Sawyer' and 'Adventures of Huckleberry Finn' are well - known. Another is Nathaniel Hawthorne, known for 'The Scarlet Letter'. And of course, Herman Melville with 'Moby - Dick' is also a significant author of that era.
Henry Fielding was a very prominent one. He wrote 'Tom Jones' which is considered a classic of the 18th - century novel. Another was Samuel Richardson, known for his epistolary novels like 'Clarissa' and 'Pamela'. Daniel Defoe was also important, with 'Robinson Crusoe' being his well - known work.
Horace Walpole was a prominent author of 18th - century mystery novels. He wrote 'The Castle of Otranto'. Ann Radcliffe was also important, known for 'The Mysteries of Udolpho'.
Madame de La Fayette was also well - known. Her novel 'The Princesse de Clèves' is considered a masterpiece. It was a forerunner in the development of the psychological novel, as it delved deeply into the emotions and inner thoughts of the characters.
Charlotte Bronte was a significant figure. Her 'Jane Eyre' was a powerful novel that had a strong female protagonist. Emily Bronte, Charlotte's sister, was also well - known for 'Wuthering Heights', a novel full of passion and complex characters. Thomas Hardy was another important author. His works often had a sense of melancholy and explored the relationship between people and the harsh rural landscapes.
There was also Aphra Behn. She wrote works that had elements that contributed to the development of the gothic genre in the 17th century. Her works often explored themes of power, love, and the darker aspects of human nature within settings that had a certain gothic feel to them. Her writing style was unique for her time and influenced other writers who were dabbling in the gothic style.