ABSTRACT
Susanna Haswell Rowson (1762-1824) was born in Portsmouth, England. Following her mother's early death, her father, William Haswell entrusted his daughter to relatives whilst he went to Massachusetts on naval duty. Susanna joined her father and his second wife when she was five. Charlotte Temple was published in America in 1794 and became a bestseller. In 1797, Rowson established the first academy for women in Boston. Although Rowson went on to write other fiction and verse, Charlotte Temple, which has gone through over 200 editions, and many translations, is the novel by which she became most widely known. This chapter presents the preface written by Rowson.
