Charlotte Dacre
From The Art and Popular Culture Encyclopedia
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Charlotte Dacre (1771 or 1772 – 7 November 1825), born Charlotte King, was an English author of Gothic novels.
Work
As a romance novelist, Dacre cast heroines in a way quite different from the norm of the early 19th century, which called for ladies of decorum and good taste. Her style was more like that of the male authors of her era, creating aggressive and often physically violent female characters who demonstrate powerful sexual desires and ambition. Dacre usually constructed this behaviour in a way that can be at least in part justified by the actions of others.
Of her four major novels, Zofloya is the best known today and sold well on its release in 1806. It was translated into German and into French. The story has a female character who stalks, brutally attacks and then murders a girl whom she sees as a sexual rival. Yet, despite the brutality, the story relates an underlying moral message that young women should beware of the dangers of lust.
