Wikipedia
Emmeline is a book by Judith Rossner. Published in 1980, Emmeline details the local legend of a woman who becomes ostracized by everyone in her hometown in Maine after a shocking, long-held secret becomes public. The story is a fictionalized account of the life of Emeline Bachelder Gurney. Both anecdotal and documented evidence have been found about Gurney's life. An operatic version by Tobias Picker (libretto by J. D. McClatchy) premiered in 1996 as a commission of the Santa Fe Opera and has enjoyed considerable success. It has been recorded, televised on PBS, and produced in full-scale and chamber productions. and televised.
Emmeline is an opera in two acts composed by American Tobias Picker with a libretto by JD McClatchy. Picker's first opera, it was commissioned by the Santa Fe Opera company and premiered in 1996. Based on the book of the same name Emmeline by Judith Rossner, it is the story of a mid-19th-century Maine woman who has an illegitimate son whom she gives up for adoption. He is raised by others. Twenty years later the two meet and unknowingly marry; when they discover the secret, Emmeline is abandoned by her son and ostracized in her town.
Emmeline, The Orphan of the Castle is the first novel written by English writer Charlotte Turner Smith; it was published in 1788. A Cinderella story in which the heroine stands outside the traditional economic structures of English society and ends up wealthy and happy, the novel is a fantasy. At the same time, it criticises the traditional marriage arrangements of the 18th century, which allowed women little choice and prioritised the needs of the family. Smith's criticisms of marriage stemmed from her personal experience and several of the secondary characters are thinly veiled depictions of her family, a technique which both intrigued and repelled contemporary readers.
Emmeline comments on the 18th-century novel tradition, presenting reinterpretations of scenes from famous earlier works, such as Samuel Richardson's Clarissa (1747–48). Moreover, the novel extends and develops the tradition of Gothic fiction. In combination with this, Smith's style marks her as an early Romantic. Her characters learn about their identities from nature and her landscape descriptions are imbued with political messages about gender relations.
Smith had separated from her husband in 1787 and was forced to write to support herself and her children. She quickly began writing novels, which were profitable at the time. Emmeline was published a year later in 1788; the first edition sold out quickly. Smith's novel was so successful that her publisher paid her more than he had initially promised. The novel was printed in the United States, translated into French, and issued several times during the 19th century.
Emmeline (or Emmaline or Ameline) is a female given name. The medieval name, a short form of Germanic names beginning with the element amal meaning "work". It was introduced to England by the Normans. It's also said to be an Algonquin phrase meaning "Child of Beast".