In this 18th-century bestseller, Susanna Rowson tells the tragic story of Charlotte Temple, a naïve young woman who is lured away from her home by the false promises of a British officer. The novel is based on the true story of Eliza Wilkinson, a young woman who was lured away from her home by a British officer and abandoned in London.
Charlotte Temple is a young, naïve girl who is easily swayed by the false promises of a British officer named Montraville. Montraville convinces Charlotte that he is in love with her and that they will be married. Charlotte runs away with Montraville, against the wishes of her parents, and they elope to London. There, Charlotte discovers that Montraville is already married and that she is nothing more than his mistress. Charlotte is pregnant and alone in a foreign city, with no money or friends. She gives birth to a daughter, but the child dies soon after. Charlotte is devastated by the death of her child and sinks into a deep depression. She becomes ill and dies, never having returned home to her family.