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This is a clever and delightful novella from Jane Austen that wasn't published until decades after her death. I was excited to read it after Whit Stillman adapted it into the movie "Love & Friendship."

The story is told in a series of letters, with the main character being the beautiful, selfish and manipulative Lady Susan Vernon. Lady Susan is skilled at making men fall in love with her, and is used to getting her way. In the story, she is trying to catch a husband for her daughter, but she's also distracted after getting involved with a married man, and she's busy trying to find relatives who will support her. A widow who doesn't like spending her own money, she would prefer to take advantage of the hospitality of friends and family.

Lady Susan is a very different heroine than we're used to seeing from Jane Austen. She is witty and clever, to be sure, but she does not seem ashamed of her immorality or schemes, whereas less scrupulous characters in other Austen novels always get punished for their bad behavior. Instead, Lady Susan finds a way to triumph, despite the many lessons of literature that say she should end up a ruined woman.

I didn't know what to expect from this novella, and I came away impressed. Written when Austen was about 20, this is an early work that really shines. Highly recommended for Austen fans.

Favorite Quotes
"I was so much indulged in my infant years that I was never obliged to attend to anything, and consequently am without those accomplishments which are necessary to finish a pretty woman. Not that I am an advocate for the prevailing fashion of acquiring a perfect knowledge in all the languages arts and sciences; it is throwing time away; to be mistress of French, Italian, German, music, singing, drawing etc., will gain a woman some applause, but will not add one lover to her list. Grace and manner after all are of the greatest importance."

"There is exquisite pleasure in subduing an insolent spirit, in making a person pre-determined to dislike, acknowledge one's superiority."