Rowson's tale of a young girl who elopes ot the United States only to be abandoned by her finace was once the bestselling novel in American literar...
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Jan 04, 2009
Kirk
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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
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Dec 31, 2010
Syed
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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 war
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Feb 17, 2010
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.
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May 13, 2009
Laura
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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.
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.
Dec 01, 2010
Kevin
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Interestingly, Rowson's cautionary tale was a good read, only if told in advance with this question in mind: Who is responsible for Charlotte Temple's demise? With that in mind, the story becomes a guessing game (to me anyways) like the game Clue. Otherwise, I think the story would lose its excitement, which I know it's not suppose to be exciting, but a warning to the young ladies.
Sep 22, 2011
Cody
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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.
Jun 28, 2009
Joselynn
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old school shanking. Can't remember if it was fun because it was for school while I was reading like 10 other assignments.
Mar 18, 2009
This was a very fast but fun read... a little of that Jane Austen vibe but way more melodramatic.
Dec 30, 2011
David
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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 internationall
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Sep 29, 2011
Sarah
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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.
Jan 21, 2008
Kelsey
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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.
May 22, 2007
laura
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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.
Dec 17, 2009
Leighza
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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.
Sep 07, 2008
Nora
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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.
Oct 26, 2008
Jeff
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What I learned? That late 18th/early 19th century American women didn't have very good options as to what to read.
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