Charlotte Temple: A Tale of Truth
By saddleStill
Has anyone here read this one? I only came across it this year because I’m taking an American lit survey class. Charlotte Temple by Susanna Rowson was apparently a massive hit here, first published in England in 1791 and then in the US in 1794. I think it was one of the earliest big bestsellers, and it ended up going through 200 editions. There’s even a gravestone for Charlotte Temple at Trinity Church in NYC, even though she’s not real. So it seems like the novel had a huge impact on early Americans, but now it’s almost completely forgotten. Why do you think that happened? Sure, the message feels pretty dated now, but there are plenty of books that influenced people and still don’t just vanish. For class, I have to write an address to an audience in a similar style. I’ve got a couple pages done, but I’m mostly just hoping for some reassurance that I’m on the right path. Though I guess it’s hard to say if you haven’t read the book. (If this isn’t the right place, sorry. The rules say no promotion, and I’m not trying to sell anything or have anyone write it for me — I just want a “yes, this is working” or a “no, maybe start somewhere else.”)