Mary Charlton

Mary Charlton (fl. 1794–1824), Gothic novelist and translator, was a "leading light" at the Minerva Press. Title page of Mary Charlton's The Wife and the Mistress. A Novel. (Vol. 1; London: Minerva Press, 1802; 2nd ed: 1803) (HathiTrust)

Work Mary Charlton was a prolific novelist and translator for the popular Minerva Press, to the extent that publisher William Lane named her in sixth place on his list of "particular and favourite Authors" in his prospectus. Although the Press was frequently seen as low-brow and even disreputable, Charlton herself seems to have often received solid reviews: the Critical Review described Andronica as "interesting and amusing" and the Anti-Jacobin refers to the "elegant satire and delicate irony" of Rosella. Rosella is "a satire on novel-reading" The Homicide. A Novel. Taken from The Comedie di Goldoni, by Mary Charlton, author of "The Wife and Mistress" &c. In Two Volumes. (London: Minerva Press, 1805; 2nd ed: Rosaura di Viralva; or, The Homicide in 1813) Grandeur and Meanness; or, Domestic Persecution. A Novel. In Three Volumes. By Mary Charlton, author of The Wife and Mistress, Rosella, &c. &c. (London: A.K. Newman, 1824) Past Events. An Historical Novel, of the Eighteenth Century, by the author of "The Wife and the Mistress," "The Pirate of Naples," "Rosella," "Andronica," &c. &c. In three volumes. (London: R.P. Moore, 1824; 2nd ed: Past Events; or the Treacherous Guide, a Romance, 1830)

Translations Lafontaine, August Heinrich Julius. The Reprobate. A Novel. In Two Volumes. Translated by the Author of The Wife and the Mistress, &c. The Original by Augustus La Fontaine. (London: Minerva Press, 1802) Lafontaine, August Heinrich Julius. The Rake and the Misanthrope. A Novel. In Two Volumes. From the German of Augustus La Fontaine.(London: Minerva Press, 1804)

Children's literature Mrs. Charlton's pathetic poetry for youth: calculated to awaken the sympathetic affections. (London: Knevett, Arliss, and Baker, 1811; 2nd ed.: Whittingham and Arliss, 1815)