The fabrication of an American identity was in the works in the 1800s. This meant that all forms of art and expression were breaking new ground. The development of purely American styles of writing were also emerging, and the authors riding the crest of this wave had an opportunity to impact literature forever to come. Two such writers, who I may add pursued the art-form for completely different reasons, were Susanna Rowson and Harriet Jacobs. Rowson, a writer for profit and acclaim, and Jacobs, a writer for social change and African American advancement.
Their works Charlotte Temple and Incidents in the Life of A Slave Girl are surprisingly similar in presentation. Both knew how to construct a novel which would snap to readers' attention and hold on tightly, and both succeeded in creating a new kind of female hero, as Daniel says about Jacobs “Brent is entrapped in traditional entanglements of female roles, but Jacobs gives her the "maneuvers" with which to "break out." Equipping her "new kind of hero" with the provisions of the romance hero.” The equation for such success was in both their cases the projection of their work as a factual retelling, a swiftly advancing plot, and perhaps most importantly a heavy play for a moral message.
Everyone loves a good story. People have been telling stories since the beginning of time. One thing that almost always makes a story better, though, is if it is true. Movie producers always jump at the opportunity to include with the title of a new movie the words “Based on a true story…” Those who have taken the time to dig a little deeper into the fact of the matter come to realized that when they say “based” what they really mean is “we used the same first name of an incidental character”, regardless, thinking something is a true event certainly makes it more exciting.
This is a device utilized by both Jacobs and Rowson in their writing, and was likely in no small part one of the most attractive features of the works. In Jacobs' case, because the novel is presented under a pseudonym, Linda Brent, the authenticity of the events as her own was for many years questioned - speculation about whether it was written by an abolitionist or a white collaborator. However, all hard evidence, including a letter to Amy Post in which Jacobs explains her need to create an alter ego, point to Slave Girl's Linda Brent as being the author herself (Lauder 2030).
Rowson, though many of her works involved aspects paralleling her own life, likely wrote Charlotte Temple from her imagination, and simply presented it as a factual account. Rowson, however, would always claim it to be a work of non-fiction (Parker 518) and prefaced the book by calling it “a tale of truth”. According to that same preface in Lauder, Rowson claims she was relayed to the story by “an old lady who had personally known Charlotte” (1367). This is a claim that can neither be proved or disproved, and so it is easiest for a reader simply to believe along, and consider it true. Fabled truth is not the only device, however, utilized by both these women which has also become a favorite among movie producers.
I once tried to read a book by Maugham entitled “Of Human Bondage”, because it was famous, and frankly, I figured anything about S&M couldn't be that bad (nyuck, nyuck.) Anyway, after 72 hours of continuous reading, I was two-thousand pages into it, and as far as I could tell nothing had happened yet. You have to pardon my gross exaduration, but I'm serious, it was just that slow and uneventful. If a movie producer put that book to film (which one probably has by now), he would either have to shorten it by bounds, or provide sedatives to all the audience members. Well, I imagine this is how most people feel about stories - “just get to the good stuff, already” - and then, once the plot has developed and the important things have happened - “end it now please.” I would never go as far as to say this is necessary for a book to become a hit, just look at Moby Dick, or War & Peace (both of which they made movies of, but you wouldn't find me watching on of them). However, books with a swifter pace tend to attract more "everyday" readers, as opposed to only those who are taking an advanced literature class. Both Temple and Of a Slave Girl stuck to this faster pace with great results. Parker wrote of Charlotte Temple, “[it] sold because it was brief and entertaining”. It was quite possibly this brevity which allowed it to sell so many copies in such as short amount of time. Best-seller acclaim would not come for Jacobs, indeed she had a lot of trouble even getting it published. This was of no great concern to the author though, as she had more important things to accomplish with her time, such as earning her children's freedom and quelling injustice. Nudelman notes, however, that despite this her work was also direct, succinct, and simply descriptive.
