6 h 36 minAudiobook14 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 6 h 36 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the freedom to choose your own life is the very thing society refuses to forgive?
Eliza Wharton wants pleasure and independence before marriage. After the death of a clergyman she respects but does not love, sorrow mingles with relief. Now the Reverend Boyer offers a respectable future, while Major Sanford brings charm and danger. Eliza wants time to choose. Boyer wants her commitment.
In Hannah Webster Foster’s The Coquette, letters carry competing accounts of the same courtship. Lucy Freeman urges Eliza to protect her reputation; Mrs. Richman offers advice rooted in domestic responsibility. As Eliza keeps her choices open, Sanford puts his own interests first. Her uncertainty exposes a society that allows men freedoms for which women bear the cost.
What you’ll discover
- A woman beyond easy judgment Meet Eliza in all her intelligence, pride, desire, and difficulty understanding herself.
- Two unsettling possibilities Weigh Boyer’s demand for commitment against Sanford’s charm and pursuit of his own pleasure.
- Letters that reveal differences Follow a courtship through writers who see the same situation in sharply different ways.
- Friendship under pressure Hear Lucy Freeman and Mrs. Richman counsel Eliza toward reputation, marriage, and domestic responsibility.
- The cost of independence Explore the unequal rules that make Eliza’s wish for freedom so difficult to pursue.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy stories of courtship and choice, letters that let you read minds, and early American life. It suits anyone curious about women's independence and reputation.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Eliza Wharton Steps Out of Mourning
- Two Very Different Suitors Appear
- Mrs. Richman Warns Her About the Major
- Boyer Proposes and Eliza Asks for Time
- Sanford's Letters Show a Calculating Mind
- Friends Take Sides and Eliza Seems to Yield
- Hartford, a Wedding, and Boston
- The Arbor and the Ending of One Hope
- What the Story Says About Freedom and Choice
- Reputation, Seduction, and the Letter Form
Who’s who
- Eliza WhartonA lively, witty young woman who wants to enjoy her freedom before she marries, and struggles to choose between her two suitors.
- Reverend J. BoyerA sincere young minister who offers Eliza a steady home and hopes she will name a wedding day.
- Major Peter SanfordA charming man of fashion with a bad reputation and hidden debts, who pursues Eliza for his own reasons.
- Mrs. RichmanEliza's cousin, happily married, who warns her early about Sanford and urges her toward good judgment.
- Lucy FreemanEliza's close friend in Hartford, who gives frank advice and later marries Mr. Sumner.
- Julia GranbyA cultured, sharp-eyed friend who comes to comfort Eliza and watches her closely.
- Mrs. WhartonEliza's widowed mother, who wants her daughter happily settled and loves her without reserve.
- Mr. SelbyBoyer's friend, who meets Eliza and writes back to warn him about her company.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
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- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 14 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
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La civetta, ovvero La storia di Eliza Wharton
by Hannah Webster Foster · 1797
Eliza Wharton dreams of dancing after a joyless engagement as two very different suitors pursue her.
Medium level2–5 hours to readItaliano
Learn a language with medium classicsSpagnoloFranceseTedescoItalianoGiapponesePortogheseIngleseHow we measure levels
Excellent
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In short
Why would a young woman, freshly released from a duty she never wanted, risk everything for a few more years of dancing and laughter? That question drives The Coquette, a novel told entirely through letters.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Eliza Wharton Steps Out of Mourning
The novel begins with Eliza confessing her pleasure at leaving her childhood home. Her fiancé, the Reverend Mr. Haly, has just died after a long illness. She nursed him faithfully, yet she admits that she never truly loved him.
Now Eliza feels released from an arrangement she accepted out of obedience. In her first letter she promises herself a calm and serious life. That resolve lasts about a page. In her second letter she calls herself cheerful and thoughtless, and she feels her old wish for society returning. She is staying in New Haven with her cousin Mrs. Richman, and soon she puts away her mourning clothes and goes to a party.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 14 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1797
- Language
- Italiano
- Reading time
- 4 h 15 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Foster, Hannah Webster. The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-coquette-or-the-history-of-eliza-wharton.
Foster, H. W. (2026). The coquette, or, the history of Eliza Wharton. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-coquette-or-the-history-of-eliza-wharton (Original work published 1797)
Foster, Hannah Webster. The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-coquette-or-the-history-of-eliza-wharton.
@book{foster2026coquette,
author = {Foster, Hannah Webster},
title = {The Coquette, or, The History of Eliza Wharton},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-coquette-or-the-history-of-eliza-wharton},
note = {First published 1797}
}
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What is The Coquette about?
It follows Eliza Wharton, a lively young woman who is courted by a steady minister and a charming rake. The story is told through letters between her and her friends, showing how her choices about freedom and marriage shape her fate.
Is The Coquette based on a true story?
It is widely thought to draw on a real Connecticut scandal known to readers of the 1790s. Foster published it in 1797 and shaped the events into a novel in letters, with invented names and scenes.
What does coquette mean in the book?
A coquette is a woman who enjoys flirting and gathers admirers without committing to one. Eliza's friends use the word as a warning, and she thinks it too harsh for an innocent, cheerful heart.
The author
Hannah Webster Foster
1758–1840 · American novelist
Hannah Webster Foster (1758–1840) was an American novelist born in Salisbury, Massachusetts. She lived in Massachusetts and later in Montreal, Canada, where she died. She wrote The Coquette, published in 1797, and The Boarding School, published in 1798. She was married to John Foster, a minister.
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