Smith, Charlotte Turner. The Young Philosopher, a Novel. London, Printed for T. Cadell, Jun. and W. Davies, 1798.
A novel originally published in 1798 in four volumes in which the hero teaches his sister to be a "rational companion" and to "draw scientifically." The author modestly claims in the preface a "slight knowledge of natural history." Smith’s work shows the dense interweaving of women, gender and botanical culture in England at the turn of the century. She loved botanical pursuits, was talented in drawing as a girl, taking lessons with a landscape painter. She did watercolors of plants and flowers all her life. She integrates botanical expertise into popular novels, such as this one, into juvenile natural histories, such as Rural Walks and into her poetry.
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