Susanna Rowson

Susanna Rowson (Portsmouth, 1762 – Boston, 1824) was a novelist, poet, playwright, actress and educator who was born in England and spent most of her career in the United States. She wrote in English while American literature was still taking shape, and she is remembered as one of the first women geographers and an early advocate of schooling for girls.

She reached Massachusetts as a child in 1767, when her father took up a post as a customs officer. The Revolution sent the family back to England in 1778, and they struggled financially afterwards. While working as a governess in Westminster she published her first book, and in 1791 came Charlotte: A Tale of Truth, which circulated in America as Charlotte Temple and sold steadily for decades. She and her husband then turned to the stage in Edinburgh, Philadelphia and Boston, where she wrote plays and songs and performed dozens of roles.

In 1797 she opened one of Boston's early academies for girls, which later moved to Medford and Newton before returning to the city. In 1805 she published a geography textbook focused on human geography, which also criticised the damage slavery caused. Her legacy lies in sentimental fiction, women's education and the early literature of the United States, and she is still remembered chiefly for Charlotte Temple.