Modern Chivalry: Containing The Adventures Of A Captain And Teague O'regan, His Servant - Softcover

Hugh Henry Brackenridge

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0371702372 ISBN 13: 9780371702376

Publisher: HardPress, 1814

Synopsis

Modern Chivalry: Containing The Adventures Of A Captain And Teague O’Regan, His Servant by Hugh Henry Brackenridge is a satirical early American novel framed as a travelogue and social comedy. The narrative follows an elderly, educated captain who, with his Irish servant Teague O’Regan, travels through the American settlements, encountering elections, philosophical societies, religious controversies, and political pretensions. Through a sequence of episodes, the pair observe and provoke the pretensions of democratic systems, professional classes, and public life. Teague ventures into schemes for status — a legislative seat, a clergy order, or an Indian kingship — exposing the fragility and vanity of social advancement. The book mocks lawyers, doctors, clergy, philosophers, and salon culture; it also critiques the commercialization of politics, the manipulation of public opinion, and the performance of virtue for appearances. Employing a light, ironic tone and episodic incidents, the work explores merit versus birth, the nature of leadership, and the gap between Enlightenment ideals and practical governance in a new republic. It remains a foundational text in American satire.

Edition details

• Publisher: HardPress
• Publication date: 1814
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0371702372
• ISBN 13: 9780371702376
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 232