The Wilderness (novel)

The Wilderness, or the Youthful Days of Washington is an historical novel by the American writer James McHenry (1784–1845) set in 1750s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The novel tells the story of an Irish family from Ulster on the frontier of the American West at colonial Pittsburgh. In a subplot George Washington, who is passing through on his historic mission, falls in love with a pioneer maiden named Maria, who refuses him, and therefore he dedicates himself thereafter to the service of his country.

The Wilderness is the first American novel set entirely in Pittsburgh and Western Pennsylvania.