Antebellum America for German Immigrants: Thérèse Robinson von Jacob and Talvi‘s The Exiles (1853)

Abstract

The career of German writer Talvi (Thérèse Albertine Luise von Jacob Robinson [1797–1870]) illustrates her strong engagement with the intellectual and elite literary scenes of nineteenth-century Europe and America. This essay reviews her family background and early literary activities in Europe, while noting her extraordinary career as a language scholar, novelist, poet, translator, ethnologist and historian. Written during a period before the development of strong immigration laws in the United States, her complex novel Die Auswanderer (1852)– published in English translation as The Exiles (1853) – voices concerns relevant to both immigrants and American citizens alike, while providing strong views on issues such as slavery, immigration, cultural variation across American states and comparative national identities. The Exiles stands out as both an important early immigration novel and a notable example of German perspectives on the antebellum American social scene.