Hi y’all!

Did you know that 2025 is the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth? Such a fun year! As part of this big year, I am seeing to read all of Jane Austen’s collected works. I started with a new to me, lesser known work from her.

I am excited to share my review of Lady Susan by Jane Austen. This epistolary novella is witty and clever. I am really glad to have read it! This is an earlier work of hers and I enjoyed seeing how it differs from and reminds me of her classic novels.

Book Summary: “Beautiful, flirtatious, and recently widowed, Lady Susan Vernon seeks an advantageous second marriage for herself, while attempting to push her daughter into a dismal match. A magnificently crafted novel of Regency manners and mores that will delight Austen enthusiasts with its wit and elegant expression.“

I enjoyed the epistolary form a lot. It’s always a favorite of mine. Getting the story through the letters between characters is such a fun and unique way of storytelling. There are different details and perspectives from letters that we don’t get in traditional prose. The different tones of the letters were well done and starkly different. I enjoyed the contrasts and seeing how different characters described the same scenes and interactions. In the end, I would have enjoyed even more letters and a longer story. The letters were engaging and definitely held my interest in the characters and their futures.

The characters are perhaps not as well rounded as in her later books. Most seem rather flat and described in only basic ways. Lady Susan is vain and flirtatious. Her daughter is shy and fearful of her. Her sister in law is pious and suspicious of her. There isn’t a lot of depth to the characters. It would be so interesting to get more of their backgrounds. Why is Lady Susan the way she is? What was her marriage like? Why did she oppose the match between her brother in law and eventual sister in law? How did she become friends with certain ladies and not others? Why does she tell people one thing but so many see it another way? The potential for a longer story is certainly there.

I enjoyed the story but also was curious about how further letters could have rounded it out. That being said, it is a novella and an interesting one for sure! I was invested in the story and eager to figure out the truth of Lady Susan’s actions and to see how Mr De Quincy and others would act with her. I also felt very invested in her daughter’s happiness. Poor thing really wasn’t treated well by her overbearing mother! I wish we learned more about her history after the story is over.

I am excited to reread more Austen in the new year. One of my favorite authors!

What are your favorite Jane Austen novels?
Which of her lesser known works do you recommend?

This is my 16th classic finished on my 2nd list for The Classics Club!
Check out my full list here. To see my completed first list, click here. For more info on the club, click here.