Rowson, Susanna

Susanna Rowson, née Susanna Haswell, (born c. 1762, Portsmouth, Hampshire, Eng.—died March 2, 1824, Boston, Mass., U.S.), English-born American actress, educator, and author of the first American best-seller, Charlotte Temple.

Susanna Haswell was the daughter of an officer in the Royal Navy. She grew up from 1768 in Massachusetts, where her father was stationed, but the family returned to England in 1778.

After working as a governess for several years, Haswell published her first novel, Victoria, in 1786 and the next year married the businessman William Rowson. Several other works, including Poems on Various Subjects (1788) and Mary; or The Test of Honour (1789), appeared before her greatest success, the novel Charlotte, a Tale of Truth (1791, titled Charlotte Temple in later editions). This novel, a conventional sentimental story of seduction and remorse, was immensely popular and went through more than 200 editions.

In 1792 she went on the stage with her husband, whose business had failed. The Rowsons performed in Scotland and in Philadelphia, Baltimore, and Boston. Susanna Rowson also wrote numerous plays and musicals (including Slaves in Algiers [1794]) and in the process helped promote the development of the performing arts in the United States.

In 1797 she retired from the stage and opened the Young Ladies Academy in Boston, one of the country’s first schools for girls above the elementary level. Rowson operated the school until 1822, writing texts, songs, and poetry for her pupils. She also edited Boston Weekly Magazine (1802–05) and wrote for its successor, Boston Magazine, and other publications. Among her other works are the novels Rebecca; or The Fille de Chambre (1792) and a sequel to Charlotte Temple, titled Charlotte’s Daughter; or The Three Orphans (published posthumously in 1828) and such textbooks as A Spelling Dictionary (1807) and Biblical Dialogues Between a Father and His Family (1822).