Thomas Harrington, overcome with desire, hopes to make Harriot Fawcet his mistress. When she rejects him, Thomas' friend Jack Worthy encourages him to make the honorable decision to court and then propose to Harriot. This plan is successful, and the two become engaged, but a closely guarded secret from the past, as well as the moral standards of a newly formed nation, threaten to drive them apart. The Power of Sympathy is the first American novel and a masterpiece of sentimental fiction.

Henry Kitchell Webster (1875-1932) was an American novelist and short story writer. Born in Evanston, Illinois, Webster graduated from Hamilton College in 1897 before taking a job as a teacher at Union College in Schenectady, New York. Alongside coauthor Samuel Merwin, Webster found early success with such novels as The Short Line War (1899) and Calumet "K" (1901), the latter a favorite of Ayn Rand's. Webster's stories, often set in Chicago, were frequently released as serials before appearing as bestselling novels, a formula perfected by the author throughout his hugely successful career. By the end of his life, Webster was known across the United States as a leading writer of mystery, science fiction, and realist novels and stories.