Description

Lady Susan is a selfish, attractive woman, who tries to trap the best possible husband while maintaining a relationship with a married man. She subverts all the standards of the romantic novel: she has an active role, she’s not only beautiful but intelligent and witty, and her suitors are significantly younger than she is.

Although the ending includes a traditional reward for morality, Lady Susan herself is treated much more mildly than the adulteress in Mansfield Park, from Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility , who is severely punished.

Description

Beautiful, flirtatious, and recently widowed, Lady Susan Vernon seeks a new and advantageous marriage for herself, and at the same time attempts to push her daughter into marriage with a man she detests. Through a series of crafty maneuvers, she fills her calendar with invitations for extended visits with unsuspecting relatives and acquaintances in pursuit of her grand plan. As the plot unfolds, characters are revealed and the suspense builds — all through letters exchanged among Lady Susan, her family, friends, and enemies. Described by her rivals as the “most accomplished coquette in England,” amply endowed with “captivating deceit,” Susan proves to be a remarkable figure, devoid of any redeeming qualities, whose intrigues and devious machinations ultimately lead to disastrous results. The inspiration for the 2016 film Love & Friendship starring Chloë Sevigny and Kate Beckinsale, Lady Susan is a magnificently crafted (and frequently provocative) novel of Regency customs and manners, which has become a readers’ favorite among the author’s shorter works. Austen enthusiasts and students of English literature will delight in its wit and elegant expression.

Description

Lady Susan is a selfish, attractive woman who tries to trap the best possible husband while maintaining a relationship with a married man. She subverts all the standards of the romantic novel: she has an active role, she’s not only beautiful but intelligent and witty, and her suitors are significantly younger than she is. Although the ending includes a traditional reward for morality, Lady Susan herself is treated much more mildly than the adulteress in Mansfield Park, from Jane Austen’s novel Sense and Sensibility, who is severely punished.

Description

Austen’s epistolary novel reveals the complexities of social manoeuvring and the sharp wit of its unforgettable protagonist.

Presented as a series of letters, this short novel tells the story of the beautiful yet notorious Lady Susan and her schemes to find an advantageous second marriage for herself, while also forcing her daughter into a loveless match. Follow a brilliant and manipulative widow determined to secure advantageous marriages for herself and her daughter.

Written in 1794 and first published in 1871, enjoy this masterful novel that explores the mores and manners of English society. Not to be missed by fans of Austen’s seminal work and lovers of English literature.