Title: Emmeline, the orphan of the castle
First published: 1788
Description: The plot of Charlotte Smith's autobiographical first novel Emmeline (1788) includes the usual thrills of the eighteenth-century courtship novel: abduction, duels, and a "fairy tale princess." At the same time, the novel satirically reworks such literary conventions by focusing on the dangers of early engagement and marriage, and challenges a social and legal system in which women are inherently illegitimate subjects.
Subjects: Fiction, general, Man-woman relationships, fiction, Friendship, fiction, Social life and customs, Fiction, Marriage, Single women