Hannah Webster Foster

The Coquette: or, the History of Eliza Wharton - Thrift Editions Hannah Webster Foster

Jacket Description/Back: The demise of a respectable but unloved fiance introduces a sudden and intoxicating freedom into Eliza Wharton's life. Two new beaus vie for her attention: Reverend Boyer, a staid and proper clergyman, and Major Sanford, a dashing libertine. Reluctant to commit to either suitor, Eliza struggles with the conflicts between duty, romance, and her new-found independence. Based on the true story of Eliza Whitman, the much-talked-about focus of America's first tabloid scandal, this 1797 novel both satirizes and pays homage to its sentimental precursors. The tale unfolds from a variety of perspectives, recounted in a series of letters between the heroine and her friends and family. Eliza's situation reflects the limited options available to middle-class women of her era, and her dilemma and its resolution offer fascinating historical, literary, and cultural insights into early American society. Dover (2015) republication of the edition published by Samuel Etheridge, Boston, 1797. See every Dover book in print atwww.doverpublications.com"Brief Description: "Based on the true and tragic story of Eliza Whitman, the subject of America's first tabloid scandal, this 1797 sentimental novel both satirizes and pays homage to its moralistic predecessors. The heroine's dilemma -- a choice between duty, romance, and her personal freedom -- reflects the limited options available to 18th-century women"--Biographical Note: Hannah Webster Foster (1758 1840) wrote political articles for Boston newspapers and contributed to America's first literary magazine, "The Monthly Anthology or Magazine of Polite Literature, " later known as the "North American Review." Her first novel, "The Coquette, " was reprinted several times in her lifetime."Publisher Marketing: The demise of a respectable but unloved fiance introduces a sudden and intoxicating freedom into Eliza Wharton's life. Two new beaus vie for her attention: Reverend Boyer, a staid and proper clergyman, and Major Sanford, a dashing libertine. Reluctant to commit to either suitor, Eliza struggles with the conflicts between duty, romance, and her new-found independence. Based on the true story of Eliza Whitman, the much-talked-about focus of America's first tabloid scandal, this 1797 novel both satirizes and pays homage to its sentimental precursors. The tale unfolds from a variety of perspectives, recounted in a series of letters between the heroine and her friends and family. Eliza's situation reflects the limited options available to middle-class women of her era, and her dilemma and its resolution offer fascinating historical, literary, and cultural insights into early American society."