Charlotte Temple

When a young girl leaves the safety of her boarding school for the promise of love, she sets in motion a chain of events that will test her innocence and change her life forever. Charlotte Temple, first published in 1791, is one of the earliest and most popular novels in American literature, a story of seduction, betrayal, and the cost of a woman's reputation.

Susanna Rowson's novel follows Charlotte from her school days in England to the unfamiliar streets of New York, where she must navigate the consequences of her choices. Along the way, readers meet a cast of characters—some kind, some manipulative, and some merely weak—who shape Charlotte's fate. The novel's direct moral voice and emotional intensity made it a sensation in its time and have kept it in print for more than two centuries.

This edition is designed for readers, students, and book clubs coming to the novel for the first time. It includes the complete text of Charlotte Temple, a new introduction that sets the novel in its historical and literary context, a character guide, a summary of the story, a discussion of major themes, a glossary of period words and phrases, and questions for discussion. Whether you are reading for pleasure or for study, this companion edition offers everything you need to understand and enjoy this classic of early American fiction.