Lucy Temple (1828) is a novel by Susanna Rowson. Inspired in part by
the author's experiences in America--she was brought there by her
father, a Royal Navy officer, and place under house arrest during the
American Revolution--Lucy Temple, the sequel to her bestselling novel
Charlotte Temple, fits squarely into the popular genre of the
seduction novel. Alongside such works as Hannah Webster Foster's The
Coquette (1797), Rowson's novel continues to inform scholars on the
historical portrayal of women's sexuality in English and American
literature. "Such an assemblage of youth and innocence naturally
attracted the young soldiers: they stopped; and, as the little cavalcade
passed, almost involuntarily pulled off their hats. A tall, elegant girl
looked at Montraville and blushed: he instantly recollected the features
of Charlotte Temple, whom he had once seen and danced with at a ball at
Portsmouth." From this brief chance encounter, so much suffering ensues.
Not long after meeting her on the street, Lieutenant John Montraville
seduces young Charlotte and convinces her to leave her family and
friends behind to join him in the new world. There, spurred on by rumors
of infidelity and harboring his own sinister motives, he soon abandons
his innocent wife, leaving her alone in a country where nobody knows her
name. Although her father reaches her in time to see her once more, she
soon succumbs to illness and poverty, leaving a young daughter behind.
Lucy Temple is a tragic story of romance and morality from a leading
writer and educator of her time. With a beautifully designed cover and
professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Susanna Rowson's
Lucy Temple is a classic work of British-American literature
reimagined for modern readers.
