Rowson, Susanna

Rowson, Susanna (b. Haswell) (c. 1762–1824) writer, actress, educator; born in Portsmouth, England. Her mother died when she was born, and Susanna joined her remarried father, a naval lieutenant stationed in Massachusetts. She returned to England (1778), married (1787), and began writing sentimental novels and verse. Her novel, Charlotte, A Tale of Truth (1791; published in America in 1794 as Charlotte Temple), became the first best-seller in the United States. When her husband's fortunes failed, she turned to acting and produced plays—many of her own—in America (1793–96). In 1797 she founded a girls' boarding school near Boston, Mass., which she conducted until 1822 while writing novels, poetry, and didactic work for children and editing and contributing to various periodicals.