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13th out of 33 books
—
4 voters
Charlotte Temple
The sentimental novels of the early national period were considered a danger to society and were criticized for the corrupting influence they had on the minds of their mostly young and female audience. They told tales of vice and intrigue that purported to be "based on fact" and also advocated the need for better female education that would prepare young women against swee...more
Paperback, 160 pages
Published
February 19th 1987
by Oxford University Press, USA
(first published 1790)
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this book is baaaaaad. it is melodramatic and sentimental and full of woe is me and what shall i do and beseeching and fainting and fits and inexplicable deaths. i want montambo to read it because of all the people herein who are faced with unpleasantness, fall into a fit, and die. i want a doctor to tell me what that is all about. and i also want to know how playing the harp with a man for a half hour can knock you up. because i don't want a baby, but i do love the harp...
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Charlotte Temple is the first bestseller published in the United States, and thus an important read for anyone interested in American literature and/or print culture. This novel is very short--a novella, technically--and has a very melodramatic, over-the-top plot. It's basically an early conduct novel, showing young girls and women what consequences come from having sex outside marriage--poverty, ostracism, and death.
Charlotte is a young British girl who falls in love with a British officer and...more
Charlotte is a young British girl who falls in love with a British officer and...more
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I liked this book for several reasons. One, it was the first novel to become an American best-seller. Two, written by a woman who was also a writer of plays, music, textbooks. She was an actress and an educator. At one point, she was the main breadwinner in her family, which her husband approved of. We're talking in mid 1700's here.
The story of Charlotte begins in England. She's fifteen years old, the only child of two doting parents. A cute British soldier comes along and convinces her to elop...more
The story of Charlotte begins in England. She's fifteen years old, the only child of two doting parents. A cute British soldier comes along and convinces her to elop...more
I must say, reading this book was like going through a roller coaster of emotions for me. At times, I was frustrated at how easy Charlotte was tempted and seduced by the British soldier. Yet, I pitied and felt sorry that she had to go through something so horrible. Considering she was quite young and innocent, she didn't have enough experience and guidance from her parents to warn her of what would happen when making bad choices. But then again, there were some characters that were like the vil...more
I'm rating this book based on historical context and for entertainment value. It's a really hilarious, melodramatic book with an absurd and sensational story about a young woman who falls into vice (basically, in the words of Coach from Mean Girls, "Don't have sex. You will get pregnant. And die."). But it provides a really interesting look at the gender roles of the time period, the expectations of women and men, and the concerns of the public about morality and sexuality. So as a historical do...more
In Susanna Rowsons day, this was a book of literary genius. Her target audience was young girls & she wrote this to teach a lesson about cherishing virtue & morals. I loved the simpleness of her characters... None were too complicated. I also loved how the morals of her story are still a much talked about issue in our present day. Charlotte was young, naive, & easily persuaded. The only image she had of the world was that of her little community & girls boarding school. Though sh...more
This book is for sure ridiculous. It's preachy, and filled with disaster and doom and dead babies, and you imagine that if it were to have a musical accompaniment, it would primarily be wailing stringed instruments.
But! There's something to be said for a book that not only writes, "Silly naive girls, don't run off with sexy soldiers because they'll knock you up and leave you to die," but also provides the reader with all the actual lust and knocking-up action, too. Charlotte might have allowed h...more
But! There's something to be said for a book that not only writes, "Silly naive girls, don't run off with sexy soldiers because they'll knock you up and leave you to die," but also provides the reader with all the actual lust and knocking-up action, too. Charlotte might have allowed h...more
America's first bestseller, according to my prof. I'm not sure why, but the style reminded me of Jane Austen's juvenilia, which could be a good or a bad thing, depending. A novel of sensibility, with an abundance of fainting, a very foreign (to our eyes) framework of feminine virtue, and comically blatant didactic asides.
Charlotte is a super sweet lil' gal who loves mommy and daddy & wants to be virtuous, but also (!) is horny & wants to follow a rakish man to America so she can get her...more
Charlotte is a super sweet lil' gal who loves mommy and daddy & wants to be virtuous, but also (!) is horny & wants to follow a rakish man to America so she can get her...more
Very entertaining -- if you can read it right. Charlotte Temple is short and mercifully self-aware. Rowson periodically interrupts her narrative to remind readers -- and their doubtful mothers -- that she is telling them this story in order to help them avoid being seduced by handsome, vaguely French cads in scarlet uniforms. One thereby gets a pretty good sense of the voyeuristic frisson this didacticism produced in its young readers. A merely preachy novel is one thing; a novel that lets the a...more
Don't listen to the haters-- this book is awesome. The chapter-titles on their own are pretty great (Ch. VII: "Natural Sense of Propriety Inherent in the Female Bosom" or Ch. XXIII: "A Man May Smile, and Smile, and Be a Villian). If you've ever read a 18th or early 19th-Cen seduction tale the plot and even the cast of characters is pretty predictable (the seducer is a soldier, the accomplice to seduction an immoral Frenchwoman, and the victim a 14-year-old boarding school pupil). But at just a l...more
I scanned some of the other reviews ... apparently, one is a "hater" when one has different taste in literature?
I can appreciate that this novel has historic relevance, but as to the question, "Did you like this book?" my answer is, "No." I read it because of its place in history, but I did not enjoy the flowery, fussy, manipulative style of writing, the predictable plot, the heavier-than-heavy-handed moralisms, or the assumptions the author makes about her audience. This is the 18th century ve...more
I can appreciate that this novel has historic relevance, but as to the question, "Did you like this book?" my answer is, "No." I read it because of its place in history, but I did not enjoy the flowery, fussy, manipulative style of writing, the predictable plot, the heavier-than-heavy-handed moralisms, or the assumptions the author makes about her audience. This is the 18th century ve...more
Charlotte Temple was published when George Washington was leader of the brand new United States, and the book would hold the record as the best-selling American novel until a little old book called Uncle Tom’s Cabin came around in 1852. It’s amazing to think that the most popular novel in America for nearly half a century (there were over 200 editions) is now nearly forgotten. Until, that is, you read it.
Charlotte Temple is a cautionary tale of the highest order; the tragic story of a young Engl...more
Charlotte Temple is a cautionary tale of the highest order; the tragic story of a young Engl...more
Watch out for the major spoilers before you even get pass the introduction on this novel, the synopsis "Charlotte Temple" is the story of a young girl lead astray and left to fend for herself. The novel was written in the late 1790s and expect typical expectations of women at this time. This story is pretty good and short (also good) considering that the author talks to her audience throughout the book.
Read this if you're a fan of "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" or if you're interested in early Amer...more
Read this if you're a fan of "Tess of the D'Urbervilles" or if you're interested in early Amer...more
Rowson, through the voice of the narrator, inserts advice for young ladies (her intended readership ) throughout the text. Those with a feminist mindset tend to devalue the advice given within the book, as they see the consequences of Charlotte's behavior as unfair when compared to the "punishments" the men receive. The story line is one which is easy to follow and is interesting. For those who enjoy a simple novel that actually does contain some legitimately sound advice, I would recommend this...more
Evaluating this book is difficult because you have to take in account that it was written in 1790. Part of its appeal is that it was written then and a best seller, but it also means its written in a style I am not used to. Its almost interesting seeing how language changes overtime as well!
In the end, I decided to give it three stars. The book is a bit over dramatic but oddly enough I was drawn to its story line. The narrator interjects its opinions, though the narrator told me I'd cry and I di...more
In the end, I decided to give it three stars. The book is a bit over dramatic but oddly enough I was drawn to its story line. The narrator interjects its opinions, though the narrator told me I'd cry and I di...more
My rating is based on exploring this book in a lit/cultural studies class. It gave perspective on early fiction circulating in Britain and the U.S., and taken with Susan Stabile's critical perspectives in her article "Stilled Lives," it's a good window into society. In that context, it was an interesting read. In the context of pleasure reading, not so much.
I have been reading books for school; this one was assigned to English 11 Honors. It was the first bestseller in the United States --- late 18th C. It's a good quick read; a moralizing tale which, although somewhat dated in approach, is still an engaging story.
Thank you for the postard from Andorra; I'm a little late in my reponse.
Thank you for the postard from Andorra; I'm a little late in my reponse.
This is a really enjoyable book. There's quite a bit of "subversion and containment" at work here, but that doesn't take away from the movement of the story. Certainly this is sentimental fiction, but it can't be entirely dismissed, especially when one considers the life of the author, who was anything but the reverent/passive/obedient woman that some might argue the book is trying to extoll. This was the best selling novel of its time---actually of 100 years past its publication. Everyone had a...more
A cautionary tale on what happens if we raise our daughters to be "delicate flowers"...they will become easy prey. :-( Also think about the mother/daughter relationships and how they parallel Britain and America. Loved this novel, first American best seller but she made no money on it in America due to lack of copyrights there.
This was a classic I would never have read without a recommendation from a professor friend! :) (Thanks, Zach!) I wouldn't say it was one of my favorites of the era in which it was written, but it was a huge bestseller at the time, so it was interesting to see what people liked to read back then.
This first American bestseller conveys young women's sexual vulnerability in the late 1700s. Yes, the melodrama runs high! Why wouldn't an 18th-century bestseller resemble a soap opera? But it is more complex than it appears at first glance. Best chapter title: "A Man May Smile, and Smile, and Be a Villain."
There is enough melodrama and sentimentality in Charlotte Temple to last one a good month, maybe longer. And that's not such a bad thing. America's first bestseller, circa 1790s, and the classic seduction narrative, is well worth reading. And at only 90 pages, it won't take you so long either.
If I could have I would've given it negative stars! That's how bad this book is. Heroine is walked over like a carpet and lives miserably til she dies. Yes, I just painted broad strokes here, but I'm saving you hours of your life that you would never get back if you read this book.
Book really caught my attention and hit me really hard. It is a good short read and will leave readers wanting more. Luckily there is a sequel to to novel which I plan on reading soon. I love books that have women as the protagonist so I loved this.
This is quite possibly the worst book I've ever read, and I've read The Winter of Our Discontent. It makes me incredibly sad and disheartened that this was the first bestseller in America. Makes sense, though, I guess. Ugh. Awful.
Described as the first American "best-seller," Charlotte Temple won me over. I thought of it as The Scarlet Letter light. It's as Puritanical and preachy as one would expect, but it makes a meaningful transition to modern time.
I never would have read this on my own but I loved it! I read it for my 19th Century American Women Writers class. It gave me a look into the past and how different things were for women only 200 years ago.
another one i had to read for my seminar, but this one was way better! i think it's the first best seller in early america or something, i can see why. such a good timeless story. can't wait to go to school and discuss it! *nerd*
I finished this in two days. The characterization and personfication was fantastic, however the storyline made me think of a spin off Pride and Prejudice's Kitty situation. Terrible ending.
The book was annoying, but I give it two stars out of respect for my Professor who insists that this book should be considered an important step in the development of the American Novel.
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Susanna Rowson, née Haswell (1762-1824) was a British-American novelist, poet, playwright, religious writer, stage actress and educator.
Rowson 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.
More about Susanna Rowson...
Rowson 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.
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