What Fiction are you reading this week, Feb 28, 2021?

[hermetic]

15. Had to don my detective hat for this one...

Charlotte was born in 1749 and her life was full of men who were scoundrels. Her legal wranglings became the inspiration for Dickens' central case in Bleak House. She had 12 children and wrote her first work at 35, Elegiac Sonnets. It was an instant success and she is credited with the revival of sonnets. Her first novel, Emmeline i, was a success and in the next decade she wrote nine more. However, despite their initial success, her finances were a constant source of concern and she was often in debt being forced to move home frequently and in steadily declining health. She died in 1806, paralyzed and in poverty.

There is a book, published in 2019, titled Charlotte Smith - Emmeline. It is a Cinderella-type fantasy and largely autobiographical, except for the getting rich and living happily ever after parts. I hope that edition includes the real story of Charlotte. She was an incredibly talented and intelligent woman who deserves to be remembered and celebrated.

Thank you, MM, for making me aware of her.