Book 47: Lady Susan by Jane Austen

This is the final Jane Austen novel on my list.  I believe that she's written other short stories, etc. but I've now read all of her novels.  It's an extremely short piece (80 pages) and one that I've not really heard much about before.  I have heard that this was the first novel that Jane Austen started but the last to be completed.  Some of that roughness is bound to come through.

80 pages in one week;  12 pages per day... might finish a little early.


REVIEW:

This book was a lot different than I thought that it would be.  The book is written entirely in the form of letters between the characters.  The main character is Lady Susan Vernon who has just recently been widowed and is seeking an advantageous second marriage.  She's been chased out of the house of some friends due to her flirting and meddling and is now preparing to move to the house of her brother and his family.

The character of Lady Susan is one of the worst seen in Austen's work.  She has very few redeeming qualities. But she is attractive, intelligent and shrewd; and expert at manipulating people and events in her favor.  She likes to play the innocent card, but her letters to her friends show her true nature.  Which shows the true brilliance of this style novel.

Because of the limitations of scope inherent in a set of letters you don't get to see the events as they unfold, only the after-effects and the reactions of the characters.  You do get to see their more private feelings and motivations, however, so you have a mix of limited point of view but enhanced personal insight.  It's really quite interesting.

The ending was good, but a little rushed and I wish that the fate of the characters had been more thoroughly explored.  I'm going to miss Jane Austen and it's been a great time reading her work.  She's still one of my favorite authors and reading all seven of these books has given me a good view of her range and limitations.  This book in particular was not one of her best but was definitely one of her most creative.

7 out of 10.