Author: Rowson, Susanna
Biography:
ROWSON, Susanna, formerly HASWELL (1762?-1824: ODNB)
She was born in Portsmouth and baptised in Feb. 1762, the daughter of William Haswell, an officer in the Royal Navy, and his first wife Susanna Musgrave, who died shortly after the baby was born. Haswell was posted to Boston MA and remarried in 1765; with his second wife Rachel Woodward he had three sons. Susanna joined them in 1766. The family were prisoners of war for a time during the Revolutionary War, but were released and transferred to England in 1778. Internal evidence in her novels suggests that Susanna might have worked for a while as a governess, but after the publication of her first novel in 1786, she supported herself and her dependents primarily by her work as a writer--"arguably America's first professional novelist" according to Blain. In 1786 she married William Rawson (d 1843), a hardware merchant, trumpeter, and actor. They had no children but adopted and raised his illegitimate son. Both were recruited for the American stage in 1793 and performed in Philadelphia and Boston. Susanna Rowson retired from the stage in 1797 to open an academy for young ladies in Boston that she maintained for the rest of her life. Besides eight novels, she wrote pieces for the stage, some poetry, textbooks, and improving works for both adults and children. She contributed to at least two periodicals and was "probably" (Orlando) the editor of one of them, the Boston Weekly Magazine, for three years, 1802-5. She died in Boston and was buried there, but her remains were moved to Mount Hope Cemetery in Dorchester MA in 1866. (ODNB 11 Aug. 2020; Orlando; Blain)
Other Names:
- Mrs. Rowson