Charlotte Temple and Lucy Temple

by Susanna Rowson, Anne Douglas (Editor)

Rowson's tale of a young girl who elopes to the United States only to be abandoned by her fiance was once the bestselling novel in American literary history. This edition also includes Lucy Temple, the fascinating story of Charlotte's orphaned daughter.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, American, School, 18th Century, Literature, Novels

322 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 1, 1991

About the author

Susanna Rowson, née Haswell, was a British-American novelist, poet, playwright, religious writer, stage actress, and educator. She was the author of the novel Charlotte Temple--the most popular bestseller in American literature until Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle Tom's Cabin was published in 1852.

Reviews

[Kirk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the first selection in our 19th Cent American Novels class this semester (even though, technically, it's an 18th cen novel), so I'm rereading. It'll be a challenge bc novels of this period are so different from ours---the horizon of expectations, shall we say, might as well exist in a whole other world. The key thing to getting into this book is understanding the social function of this genre: Charlotte Temple---a huge bestseller all the way up to the early 1900s---is a seduction novel a la Pamela and Clarissa, the latter of which really did explain it all ... seven volumes worth. As with these progenitors, CT is full of stock characters, including the soon-to-be devirginated damsel, the rakish ne'er-do-well, the disappointed parents, and the older fallen woman who fails to preserve her charge's cherry. Then there are the authorial intrusions, all of them so exclamatory (dare I say shrieky) you'd be forgiven if you thought you'd tuned into Dr. Laura. Those are prejudices we'll have to overcome. The books also served a feminist agenda: they taught young readers that they deserved companionate marriages, cautioned them against the many pitfalls of men (not the least of which is the saying of anything to get into a woman's petticoat), and critiqued the novel's own dangerous power to propogate unrealistic fantasies of romance (not sex, romance). On the positive side, CT is at least a bit more dramatically straightforward because, unlike The Coquette, it's not an epistolary novel, which are brutal to get students into. Additionally, this edition has an excellent introduction that links the book's drama to Rowson's experience as a playwright and within the tradition of American melodrama. Still, this one to me is better suited to study than to enjoyment, and that will be the big obstacle. Facing it, I've figured out a gambit for kick-starting the discussion: I'll be using Caitlin Flanagan's excellent assessment of the Twilight phenomenon (http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200812...) to make a basic argument: Susanna Rowson was the Stephenie Meyer of her day--and I will mean it as a compliment.

Please discuss.

[magali she|her · Rating 1 out of 5]

"[...] I expect not my tale to please, nay, I expect it will be thrown by with disgust." (p. 108)

well, mission fucking accomplished, Susanna .

[Diem · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: I read only the first of the two books included in this collection.

I first approached this book with a bit of hostility over the fact that what has been described as "The first American novel" which outsold all others for 50 years before being unseated by "Uncle Tom's Cabin" is a book whose title and author had entirely escaped my notice. How was this possible? Why had this book of such obvious resonance at the birth of this country been effectively erased? And what of its female author? Why was her name not as immediately recognizable as Washington Irving or James Fenimore Cooper?

Weeeelllll...

Probably because the book is not really well written. The subject matter is grim and the message overwhelmingly anti-feminist by modern standards. Still, it has its merits and is not unreadable by any means. It has historical value and it should be part of a well-rounded education in American literature. The sections on Christian hypocrisy were particularly poignant. And while anti-feminist by modern standards it was progressive for its time in entreating the world to stop casting aside women who make the mistake of falling in love with bad men. I enjoyed the insinuation that the greater crime than adultery was the crime of condemning "fallen" women to poverty, prostitution and death by disease rather than offering them succor and forgiveness. I applauded the paragraph where she anticipates the mansplaining that's going to happen and shoots it down acidly.

Overwrought? Yeah. Bur surely the greater crime than Revolutionary American melodrama is putting books about horny teenaged vampires getting on booklists that we issue a national challenge to our children to read? *waves to NPR*

[Maddie Brown]

wonderful as an example of what is is — sentimental/melodramatic/seduction & abandonment tale from 18th c

[Lori Walker · Rating 1 out of 5]

You'll notice that I didn't give this book a star rating. But you're wrong. I give this book 0 stars. I realize that this book was written over 300 years ago and that it is supposed to be a moralistic tale for young girls, but wow. The prose are so heavy-handed! And the author cannot let her story prove her point. Oh no. She must enter the test and sermonize. If this book had not been for class, I would not have even heard of this book, much less bought a copy and read it.

This book would be good if you wanted to teach your daughter that if she falls in love, elopes, and has sex, then she will get pregnant, lose all of her friends, and die in a foreign country.

[Lee Foust · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just finished the first novel, Charlotte Temple. I didn't find the proselytizing or invasive narrator as annoying as most reviewers here. Perhaps being a Medievalist I'm more used to didactic texts than the children of Modernism. Indeed 'tis melodrama--not a very advanced form of literature to be sure--but melodrama of a pretty high order it seemed to me. At least the prose was spare and to the point and we were spared lengthy descriptions of the Yorkshire countryside or endless background stories of minor characters as in so many English novels of the period. Human suffering is always touching and it's always right to be reminded how our petty cruelties harm others, even if the tale is didactic and a bit overwrought.

The second novel, Lucy Temple, a kind of a sequel written thirty years after Charlotte Temple, is really a beast apart. Its plot is far more like a Gothic romance. Its narrative follows three different female protagonists, all orphans who begin their varying adventures under the protection of the same country parson, his wife, and sister. This one is more traditionally narrative, without the frequent moralistic intervention of the narrator, although there is a fair amount of traditional conservative "Christian" morality scattered liberally throughout--which is, let's face it, pretty standard fare for novels of the eighteenth and nineteenth century.

It was interesting to me how spare and fast these narratives were told, without all of the window dressing and long-winded exposition of so many novels of the period. I imagine that these books were considered simplistic and popular fare at the time of their publication given how bare bones they appear next to lengthy, episodic epics like Jane Eyre or the endless scenery descriptions in the Gothic romances of Mrs. Radcliffe and the like. Nowadays, given the Hemingway revolution of modernist prose, these two short novels actually read quite a bit better than they must have to a Victorian audience. Ah, the vagaries of history.

[Shannon Aardsma · Rating 4 out of 5]

So far, I have only read Charlotte Temple, but I so enjoyed that selection that I am looking forward to completing the duology soon.
A small novel, Charlotte Temple is a quick read. The characters and plot are so compelling that the reader finds it hard to put down. Susanna Rowson also delights the reader with numerous asides that engender trust in the author.
This novel has been so loved and so influential that visitors of New York City have in the past visited the grave of one Charlotte Temple, despite the irrefutable truth that the Charlotte Temple of the novel is a fictional character and so could not possibly be buried anywhere, even New York City.
If you are considering reading Charlotte Temple but have of yet been unconvinced of the value of reading this short story, consider further. Read the book; it will be worth what little time it takes to consume.

[Toni Aguiar · Rating 2 out of 5]

Girl this book is crazy. I would've loved fewer interjections. Also I would appreciate a break from the absolutely rampant sexism. Anywayyyyy

[yara ❦]

dnfed at 60%

[Syed · Rating 3 out of 5]

Make no mistake, Charlotte Temple is a cautionary tale. Susanna Rowson, educator that she was, weaves a tale to warn young women away from being impressionable and urges them to respect their parents. Rowson argues for devotion to one's parents, religion, and virtue, using the case study of Charlotte Temple as her example. The tale of Charlotte Temple is an interesting one, though it can be quite melodramatic. Rowson herself, as an omniscient narrator, does not fear inserting plainly her warnings and throwing her thoughts into the text; in fact, she does this often. Rowson acknowledges that there is "so much fainting, tears, and distress" that the reader might be "sick to death of the subject," but counters that she tells a tale of truth. Whether for morals or historical context or for entertainment though, the novel is not an altogether horrible read.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

Rowson provides a structure for early American national virtue in the form of cautionary tales composed in the formula of the seduction narrative. The morals meant to be gleaned from the prose are by no means veiled, and are written explicitly and with repetition. While the works are quaint and perhaps hokey by today's standards, they were bestsellers during their time, and were some of the first internationally acclaimed works of fiction from American, written by one of the first internationally acclaimed American writers.

[Elysa · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you want a sassy narrator, read this book. This pair of novellas is packed with intrigue and questions of duty and morality. The character development isn't deep, but I found it appropriate to the length and the books and enjoyable.

The novellas are a direct response to conduct books of the day meant to teach young girls how to act. While the stories do align with those teachings, I did feel the author was poking fun at them as well.

It's a nice, quick read. I think it could spark some lively discussion. I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes classic material.

[Laura · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm so glad I've spent my life in the 20th and 21st centuries, where I can enjoy trashy garbage novels that actually tell you about stuff instead of just alluding to it and don't feel the need to morally condemn the actions of every interesting character on every other page.

This is a sad excuse for pulp fiction, but I guess you just had to take what you could get in the 18th century.

Let that be a lesson to us all.

[Catherine · Rating 2 out of 5]

Still a better love story than Twilight.

(To be serious, though, it is very interesting as a historical text in the ways that it represents the society of its time. Reading it, I could see why it would have captivated the hearts of the American people back in the day. That said, the text, though replete with the plot trappings of a classic seduction story which still resonate in works today, seems to me unable to be as resonant with the world of today.)

[Kaalatzvya · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first book, Charlotte Temple, was overwritten and melodramatic. Nonetheless, it was a bit of a romp as an example of the genre of Cautionary Tales for Young Women. The second book (both are really novellas), Lucy Temple, was far better. It was less heavy-handed, although still maintained its cast of the virtuous and villainous. I wondered how much of the improved writing had to do with the fact that the sequel was written some 30 years after the first novella.

[Nanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cautionary tale if I ever read one representing “the melodrama of beset womanhood.” This book was the biggest American bestseller until Uncle Tom’s Cabin replaced it. Sensational. A page-turner if ever there was. Can’t recommend it except for the purpose motivating me to read it, which is an historical study of the American novel. Interesting trip back in time along with its gender and social prescriptions—so glad to live in the twenty first century & in America. We’ve come a long way, Baby!

[armin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, this was a particular reading experience and I didn’t see this coming. The narrator is really strange as she talks to readers directly from time to time... it is obviously a sort of warning for the girls maintaining their purity and virtue, persuading them to stick to family and that sort of thing but well pretty much out of context today! The reading is actually cool in terms of literary structure... so I mean, I do recommend it!

[laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

early american morality tale at its most dull. HOWEVER. this was one of the best selling books of early american history. as i recall, it went into something like four reprintings, which in a day of poor literacy and expensive books was a pretty freaking big deal. read it to discover why so many people -- including a LOT of women -- might have found it so captivating.

[Kelsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlotte Temple was written in the 1700's and is a wonderful story of romance and consequences. It was one of the biggest bestsellers in American literary history. Lucy Temple was written a little later and is a story of Charlotte Temple's daughter. Both stories through me for an emotional roller coaster and had me thinking about them long after I finished.

[Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

I feel like part of the reason why I look back at Charlotte Temple with a sense of fondness is that I read the book in two hours before I wrote a paper on it the day the paper was due and that I got an A- on that paper. All I remember from the book was a lot of people crying most of the time. Haha. So maybe it doesn't deserve three stars but it does hold a special place to me.

[Tonia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I recognize the importance of this text in the history of American lit, I did not enjoy reading it. It was a pretty quick read and there were a few passages I admired, but all in all unless you are really interested in the development of the novel or [American] revolutionary era, sentimental, feminist didactic books, then this is not for you.

[Leighza · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow, this book was kinda a stunner. It is a slice of the Puritan ideal that has been the base of this country since its inception. Scary. It was a BESTSELLER in its day! I love it, the language was rich and the the story well told, but, man! The harshness of life for women...all because of sex.

[Cody · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was alright. I wasn't blown away, there were a lot of tropes, but I did kinda cry at the ending just cause the narrator takes like, an entire chapter telling you that everything is going to "work out", which it does... in a way, so it caught me off guard.

[Michelle Botti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was one of the most heart-wrenching books I've ever read; it gets you very involved emotionally--you're practically there with Charlotte and her father at the end. I would recommend this to someone who wants a good cry.

[Kristina]

note to me: Meg recommended this for Women in Lit.

[Nora · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1/2 stars. There's some really good stuff in here. The actual writing in the first novel is a little painful, though. A lot of repetitive phrases.

[Jeff · Rating 1 out of 5]

What I learned? That late 18th/early 19th century American women didn't have very good options as to what to read.

[Alexamaria]

This was a very fast but fun read... a little of that Jane Austen vibe but way more melodramatic.

[Vanessa Cubillo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Most depressing book ever.

[Joselynn · Rating 2 out of 5]

old school shanking. Can't remember if it was fun because it was for school while I was reading like 10 other assignments.