The Biglow Papers

xxxii, 163 pp. In 1848, Lowell also published The Biglow Papers, later named by the Grolier Club as the most influential book of 1848.[37] The first 1,500 copies sold out within a week and a second edition was soon issued—though Lowell made no profit, as he had to absorb the cost of stereotyping the book himself.[38] The book presented three main characters, each representing different aspects of American life and using authentic American dialects in their dialogue.[39] Under the surface, The Biglow Papers was also a denunciation of the Mexican–American War and war in general.[24] His interest in the Civil War inspired him to write a second series of The Biglow Papers,[68] including one specifically dedicated to the preliminary Emancipation Proclamation called "Sunthin' in the Pastoral Line" in 1862.[74]