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Anne's Reviews > Lady Susan
Lady Susan
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Anne's review
bookshelves: audio, classics, hoopla, horror, drama-in-the-burbs, read-in-2022
Feb 11, 2023
bookshelves: audio, classics, hoopla, horror, drama-in-the-burbs, read-in-2022
I had to look up what an epistolary novel was.
Embarrassing, I know.
Swear to god, my first thought was, isn't that what they did to me when kid #1 was born? Then, no. wait. that was an episiotomy. Bless.
Alright, since I know I can't possibly be the only person in the world who didn't know the definition, I'm going to save the rest of you the 10 seconds it takes to Google it.
All it means is that this story is told through letters that were written back and forth between the characters.
I thought that might suck.
And yet, it did not suck.
What is the point of this story, you ask?
For me it was this:
Lady Susan is proof that men have always loved a bitch.
They are, in general, also quite easily duped by a beautiful woman.
And obviously vice versa, but we're not talking about stupid women today, are we? Go sit down.
I have to admit that while I thought she was a deplorable mother, and being a serial husband-snatcher isn't the way to go about making new friends, her devil-may-care attitude toward society was (for me) quite hilarious. She was awful. But I think you almost had to be awful if you were going to have any fun back in the day.
And boy, did she manage to have some fun.
Lady Susan Vernon isn't necessarily the character you're rooting for, but she is the main character. And that is important, ladies.
Because I think most women need to learn to how to turn on their inner Lady Susan every now and then to get what they want.
Recommended.
Embarrassing, I know.
Swear to god, my first thought was, isn't that what they did to me when kid #1 was born? Then, no. wait. that was an episiotomy. Bless.
Alright, since I know I can't possibly be the only person in the world who didn't know the definition, I'm going to save the rest of you the 10 seconds it takes to Google it.
All it means is that this story is told through letters that were written back and forth between the characters.
I thought that might suck.
And yet, it did not suck.
What is the point of this story, you ask?
For me it was this:
Lady Susan is proof that men have always loved a bitch.
They are, in general, also quite easily duped by a beautiful woman.
And obviously vice versa, but we're not talking about stupid women today, are we? Go sit down.
I have to admit that while I thought she was a deplorable mother, and being a serial husband-snatcher isn't the way to go about making new friends, her devil-may-care attitude toward society was (for me) quite hilarious. She was awful. But I think you almost had to be awful if you were going to have any fun back in the day.
And boy, did she manage to have some fun.
Lady Susan Vernon isn't necessarily the character you're rooting for, but she is the main character. And that is important, ladies.
Because I think most women need to learn to how to turn on their inner Lady Susan every now and then to get what they want.
Recommended.
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Reading Progress
June 6, 2015
– Shelved
November 22, 2022
–
Started Reading
November 29, 2022
–
Finished Reading
Comments Showing 1-46 of 46 (46 new)
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If you haven’t read it, The guernsey literary and potato peel pie society is another wonderful epistolary!
Jaclyn wrote: "If you haven’t read it, The guernsey literary and potato peel pie society is another wonderful epistolary!"Thank you! I'll try to grab that one, Jaclyn.
Christine PNW wrote: "I had put off reading this one because I, too, believe that epistolary novels (with a very few exceptions) suck. OMG, Lady Susan, though. She is a force of nature. A destructive force, like a hur..."
She was delicious! I hated her but I wanted to BE her.
Fanny Price is the purity offset for Lady Susan
I want to finally read this this year. And thanks for making me laugh out loud about the episiotomy 🤣
Kaethe wrote: "Fanny Price is the purity offset for Lady Susan"And I disliked Fanny so much! It's no wonder I loved Lady S a little bit.
Andrea wrote: "I want to finally read this this year. And thanks for making me laugh out loud about the episiotomy 🤣"I hope you like it, Andrea. It's definitely a lot better than the episiotomy!
Anne wrote: "And I disliked Fanny so much! It's no wonder I loved Lady S a little bit."Right? Fanny's fans are a small group. There's Austen and one or two other people probably. I don't think I've ever met one.
I've met a couple of Fanny fans. They're about as rabid as you'd think they'd be. Lord help.
Yes,I’m the mould of the rabid Fanny Price fan! But Lady Susan sounds a completely unstoppable force majeure, and that’s my bacon too! For epistolary novels, you can’t look past Samuel Richardson’s “Pamela� which, despite its length, makes time slide effortlessly by!
Anne wrote: "I've met a couple of Fanny fans. They're about as rabid as you'd think they'd be. Lord help."Bless their hearts.
Boadicea wrote: "Yes,I’m the mould of the rabid Fanny Price fan! But Lady Susan sounds a completely unstoppable force majeure, and that’s my bacon too! For epistolary novels, you can’t look past Samuel Richardson’s..."Proving my point: Fanny offsets Susan and brings us to Neutral Austen.
On a personal note I could never disrespect the opinions of a Boadicea on unstoppable forces.
Anne, as an RN, that opening line of your review has me CACKLING 🤣I remember having to look that up for a book challenge once so you're not alone 😉
Hahaha Anne! That first paragraph had me laughing and you have no idea how much I needed that right now. 🙂 Fantastic review, as always.
Boadicea wrote: "Yes,I’m the mould of the rabid Fanny Price fan! But Lady Susan sounds a completely unstoppable force majeure, and that’s my bacon too! For epistolary novels, you can’t look past Samuel Richardson’s..."Ok! I'll see if I can find it at my library! Fanny fan...hmmm.
LOL! I'm kidding!
Kaethe wrote: "Proving my point: Fanny offsets Susan and brings us to Neutral Austen.On a personal note I could never disrespect the opinions of a Boadicea on unstoppable forces."
Same.
Jenna ✨is wearing her DNF Crown wrote: "Anne, as an RN, that opening line of your review has me CACKLING 🤣I remember having to look that up for a book challenge once so you're not alone 😉"
Thank god! I was starting to wonder if I'd read the room wrong and EVERYONE knew what that meant! lol
Karen wrote: "Hahaha Anne! That first paragraph had me laughing and you have no idea how much I needed that right now. 🙂 Fantastic review, as always."Thanks! And I'm sorry if you're having a sucky day, Karen.
Marina wrote: "You are funny!!"Thank you, Marina!
Another vote for Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! My book club loved it. I also grew up loving Daddy Long Legs, which may be problematic now!
MzLyz wrote: "Another vote for Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! My book club loved it. I also grew up loving Daddy Long Legs, which may be problematic now!"Athird for Gueensey, and yes, Daddy Longlegs is problematic, but it does also have charm.
MzLyz wrote: "Another vote for Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society! My book club loved it. I also grew up loving Daddy Long Legs, which may be problematic now!"Oh, well now I've got to see what all the fuss is about!
I have an epistolary shelf ;) but I will now forever think of episiotomy when I see that word lol
It's one of those things that you can't stop seeing once you've seen it. LOLSo sorry, Holly!
Brilliant review, Anne!
I thought something was wrong with me because I read it as 'episiotomy' just like you did😂 Interesting...I will definitely give it a try! Thanks for the review, Anne.
Lady Susan Vernon is that bitch. And we all love her for it.
Erin wrote: "Brilliant review, Anne!"Thanks, Erin!
Blue wrote: "I thought something was wrong with me because I read it as 'episiotomy' just like you did😂 Interesting...I will definitely give it a try! Thanks for the review, Anne."
Hahha! Not just me then!
leynes wrote: "Lady Susan Vernon is that bitch. And we all love her for it."YES. Yes, she is.
Anne you are too funny , I thank u for saving me the trbl of searching it up , i didnt know what a..a.. *checks again* An epistolary novel ! was either . will i even remember that in the next 10 seconds ?anywho glad you enjoyed the read ! i think i know of a few ladies that share the lady susan's qualities and boy are they IT !
i love epistolary novels and took me years to remember that is what they are called.i did have to look up episiotomy. 😬😬😬😮😮😮
and oh my gosh. i cannot believe mothers have more than one child. y'all don't forget the awfulness and still have more than one. like whaaaaat??? !!!!!
i would say it is temporary insanity but i have listened to more than one awful pregnancy and labor story. so i know y'all remember this stuff and STILL choose to go through it again. even when you have kids that are teens!
like crazy! i do not get it.
hmm. never read a jane austen novel. the movies bored me so much i never finished one. so i figured why read the books? i may look into this one.
Gamar � wrote: "Anne you are too funny , I thank u for saving me the trbl of searching it up , i didnt know what a..a.. *checks again* An epistolary novel ! was either . will i even remember that in the next 10 se..."Haha! I won't know what it is in five minutes, either. Thanks, Gamar!
Kay Dee wrote: "hmm. never read a jane austen novel. the movies bored me so much i never finished one. so i figured why read the books? i may look into this one."Idk if you will like them or not. Pride and Prejudice is the best but if you aren't into the movies, then I'm not going to push her stuff on you.
Kay Dee wrote: "i love epistolary novels and took me years to remember that is what they are called.i did have to look up episiotomy. 😬😬😬😮😮😮
and oh my gosh. i cannot believe mothers have more than one child. y'a..."
I don't think they even do that anymore! Or only rarely. I only had it happen the first time. IT TAKES FOREVER TO HEAL - as you can imagine. I think they've found it is far better to let nature do its thing.
And just so you know, NONE of my children were planned and I wasn't some stoic mother who was telling the doctor to don't worry about me, just save my baby!, I was that bitch screaming get it out! get it out! get this fucking thing out before it kills me!
Anne wrote: "...just so you know, NONE of my children were planned ..."i see you said childREN as in more than one. proving my point that y'all are slightly crazy. mothers remember the awfulness and do it again. like... i just... wow.
planned or not planned y'all still be birthing them.
my friends that have only one child, none of them say it is because the pregnancy and labor was awful. most had a difficult time conceiving or they always planned on just one child.
i like babies...cuz i always have to give them back to their parents after the night/weekend is over. heh heh
I have FOUR. FOUR.
I pushed four kids out of my lady bits!
Although, my youngest is 15, so...I'm kind of done with the raising of them. 15, 18, 20, and (almost) 23. Not a serial killer in sight! All has gone according to plan and I will get to kick back with my adorable Hubs and reap the rewards of not fucking up too badly.
Or so I think!
I'm fully expecting to get paid back in a lot of adorable grandbabies that I have to do nothing but hug and squeeze and spoil. And by the time those grandkids completely fuck their lives up and become a drain on society, I'll be safely tucked away in an urn on someone's mantle.
It's the great circle of life.
message 41:
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Kay Dee (what is your storygraph name?
(last edited Mar 05, 2023 03:44AM)
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Anne wrote: "I have FOUR. FOUR.
I pushed four kids out of my lady bits!
Although, my youngest is 15, so...I'm kind of done with the raising of them. 15, 18, 20, and (almost) 23. Not a serial killer in sight! A..."
FOUR!!
Ok wow. Now i really am amazed at how much you read and are able to write great book reviews.
I must say never heard a parent brag about their kids not being a serial killer. 😆😆😆
I pray one day you get adorable grandbabies that you can love on. It is so funny how different grandparents are.
My sister has one from her oldest (27). She still has 2 other kids 7 and 16. i tell you that granbaby gets away with things her kids never could. It is so funny cuz she swore she would not spoil grandchildren after the issues she had with her oldest. (In my family's defense, he was the only baby for a long time and he was very cute. He would giggle when he was being naughty. like dude knew he could make us laugh and not get in trouble.)
Now I have to read it lol
butterfly wrote: "Now I have to read it lol"I hope you love it, butterfly!
Boadicea wrote: "Yes,I’m the mould of the rabid Fanny Price fan! But Lady Susan sounds a completely unstoppable force majeure, and that’s my bacon too! For epistolary novels, you can’t look past Samuel Richardson’s..."Lady Susan is indeed a force majeur. Insurance companies specifically exclude her as a covered hazard.
Hi! I love your review! I just wanted to let you know that epistolary novels don't necessarily have multiple narrators! A lot of the earlier epistolary novels were actually from one POV and then it became more common to have multiple people writing instead of just one (because drama is much more fun from different angles lol) -- just thought I would drop my English Lit scholar knowledge on you for my own sanity :)
OMG, Lady Susan, though. She is a force of nature. A destructive force, like a hurricane, or a wildfire that sweeps through an entire town full of supercilious, superficial assholes leaving nothing but a swath of devastation in its wake.
Delicious, in its own way.