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3.33 AVERAGE
3.33 AVERAGE
You can tell what the plot will be from the year of publication and the name. A coquette?? Bad news!
The narrative was tiresome and repetitive for the first 3/4th of the book. Everything that happened of interest occurred in the last 1/4th of the book, and (sorry to spoil it for all those who anxiously await reading this), Eliza nearly deserved what happened for being so conceited and reckless. Eliza gave me allllll the Lydia Bennet vibes. I can see why this book was popular when it was published because it’s quite the ~scandal~. I found it somewhat entertaining though because 19th century fvck bois really do have the audacity
Entertaining enough. Way too long though, and they're scared of just goddamn saying what they mean.
I picked this up for less than a dollar, and it turned out to be one of my favorite books. It is written in letters, which does so much for the plot and character development. The main character dwindles as her life and reputation dwindle. You see both the male and female perspective. Each "letter writer" has a very distinct voice, and the emotions of each one are conveyed beautifully. It is brilliant.
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the type of book Jane Austen would mercilessly mock, and for good reason.
What a wonderful period piece. This epistletory novel was written in 1797 by early American female writer Hannah W. Foster. Through letters the reader learns the story of an unmarried woman who finds herself pregnant in Puritanical New England.
Audiobook: www.youtube.com/watch?v=raYtRysahmE
Not sure if the intended message of this novel fully got through. Very much up to interpretation, but also based on a true event so the interpersonal & thematic elements are as messy as they are expected to be in real life.
Not sure if the intended message of this novel fully got through. Very much up to interpretation, but also based on a true event so the interpersonal & thematic elements are as messy as they are expected to be in real life.
The Coquette is a fictionalization of the real life story of Elizabeth Whitman, a woman who became famous through newspaper articles informing the world of her death after giving birth alone to a child who was not the product of marriage. As such, The Coquette acts as an moral instructional tale, basically saying "Don't have premarital sex because you will get pregnant and die." By straying from the path of societal normative behavior (marriage), Eliza brings her downfall upon herself.
Reading this in the twenty-first century is quite enjoyable and somewhat funny. What else would be read by so many others during this time than a cautionary tale warning women about men who are rakes? The Coquette was an easy read, but for some reason, it took me awhile to read my assigned chunks, and for that reason, it gets four out of five stars.