Charlotte Dacre

Charlotte Dacre (17? , born Charlotte King, was a British Gothic novelist, and poet. Her husband was attacked in his office by a masked intruder, and died of his injuries in 1833.

Work

In 1798 Charlotte King published with her sister Sophia a volume of Gothic verses, Trifles of Helicon, and dedicated it to her bankrupt father to show 'the education you have afforded us has not been totally lost'. Charlotte Dacre remained in virtual obscurity for nearly two centuries until the recovery of Zofloya in the 1990s by feminist scholars. Zofloya has since become a staple work of Gothic curriculum. Her work was admired by some of the literary giants of her day and her novels influenced Percy Bysshe Shelley, who thought highly of her style and creative skills. Shelley's first two Gothic novels, Zastrozzi and St. Irvyne were largely influenced by Zofloya. She is believed to be one of the numerous targets of Lord Byron's satirical poem English Bards and Scotch Reviewers, mentioned in the lines:

Partial bibliography Trifles of Helicon, with her sister Sophia King Hours of Solitude (Poems) (1805) Confessions of the Nun of St. Omer (1805) Zofloya (1806) The Libertine (1807) The Passions (1811) George the Fourth, a Poem (1822)