Known as the first best-selling American author, Rowson is generally ignored today by the print media and rarely taught in American literature survey courses. Her popular novel Charlotte Temple shows character development and employs the popular themes of seduction and betrayal. This is probably the first American novel written specifically for women readers. She remains an important literary figure in the early years after the American revolution.

Primary Works

Victoria, A novel, 1786; Mentoria, or the Young Ladies' Friend, 1791; Charlotte, a Tale of Truth (London, 1791; US, 1794; later known as Charlotte Temple) E-Text; The Inquisitor; or, Invisible Rambler, 1793; Rebecca, or, The Fille de Chambre (London, 1792; US, 1794); Trials of the Human Heart, 1795; Reuben and Rachel, or Tales of Old Times, 1798; Sarah; or, The Exemplary Wife, 1813; Charlotte's Daughter; or, The Three Orphans. A Sequel to Charlotte Temple, 1828.

| Top | Selected Bibliography

Brandt, Ellen B. Susanna Haswell Rowson: America's First Best-Selling Novelist. Chicago: Serba, 1975.

Davidson, Cathy N. "Introduction," Charlotte Temple. NY: Oxford UP, 1986.

- - -. Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the American Novel in America. NY: Oxford UP, 1986.

Derounian, Stodola, and Kathryn Zabelle. "The Gendering of American Fiction: Susanna Rowson to Catharine Sedgwick." Making America/Making American Literature. Eds. Robert A Lee and W. M. Verhoeven. Amsterdam: Rodopi, 1996. 165-81.

Epley, Steven. "Three Women Writers and Public Discourse, 1788-1798: Mary Wollstonecraft, Hannah More, and Susanna Rowson." DAI 54.2 ( Aug 1993): DA9313587.

Kritzer, Amelia H. "Playing with Republican Motherhood: Self-Representation in Plays by Susanna Haswell Rowson and Judith Sargent Murray." Early American Literature 31.2 (1996): 150-66.

Martin, Wendy. "Profile: Susanna Rowson, Early American Novelist." Women's Studies 2 (1974): 1-8.

Parker, Patricia L. Susanna Rowson. Boston: Twayne, 1986. PS2736 .R3 Z74

Piacentino, Edward J. "Susanna Haswell Rowson: Bibliography of First Editions of Primary Works and of Secondary Sources." Bulletin of Bibliography 43.1 (Mar 1986): 13-16.

Rourke, Constance. The Roots of American Culture. NY: Harcourt, 1942.

Rust, Marion. "Measuring Pleasure: Susanna Rowson and Sentimental Agency, 1754-1817." DAI 58.9 (Mar 1998): DA9810197.

Saar, Doreen A. "Susanna Rowson: Feminist and Democrat." Curtain Calls: British and American Women and the Theater, 1660-1820. Eds. Mary A. Schofield and Cecilia Macheski. Athens: Ohio UP, 1991. 231-46.

Stayton, Susan D. "From Rowson to Chopin: Radical Compromise." DAI 52.12 (Jun 1992): DA9212647.

Vail, Robert. "Susanna Haswell Rowson, the Author of Charlotte Temple: A Bibliographical Study." American Antiquarian Society Proceedings 42 (1933): 47-160.

Weil, Dorothy. In Defense of Women: Susanna Rowson (1762-1824). University Park: Pennsylvania S. UP, 1976. PS2736.R3

MLA Style Citation of this Web Page

Reuben, Paul P. "Chapter 2: Colonial Period: 1700-1800 - Susanna Haswell Rowson." PAL: Perspectives in American Literature- A Research and Reference Guide. URL: http://www.csustan.edu/english/reuben/pal/chap2/rowson.html (provide page date or date of your login).  

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