ŷ������

Lady Susan is a very artful book, where its artfulness lies in the author's understanding of the mechanism of Regency society. I have the feeling that the me from 5 years ago would not have appreciated the book as much as me now. The novel is almost a novella. It is rueful to realise that books with more ambition than this one have all been half forgotten by all but the most immersed of proponents.

Lady Susan, her daughter Frederica, and Reginald form a love triangle that makes us want an ending that, when it finally arrives, is excellently delivered. The bit part players in the book have more voice in it because of the nature of its epistolary structure. People who see through Lady Susan's wiles are given a stage to punctuate Lady Susan's web of lies with a running commentary that lends weight to the book.

I gave this book 4 stars because I was not half pleased with the ending. Endings like this do not hurt as much as they would in the hands of a lesser writer. But this is a book written by a young Jane Austen. She is young, but still her talent is evident. The ending is made of the stuff of Victorian commonality. I loved the book because of it. The first two thirds of the book make the third act a desirable outcome. This is because so much worse could have occurred.

I have yet to read All of Jane Austen's bibliography. I worried before reading Lady Susan. My wavering hopes tussled with my acquired pessimism and the thirst for more of Austen finally won out. I understand those who, like me, have taken a star from their ratings. Comparisons with Pride and Prejudice, are inevitable, though unfair. I have, however, no illusions as to one of Austen's books. Turns out even the most unique voice from Victorian literature is not infallible. We will have to take proof of the pudding, won't we?

I am slightly indignant by the low rating for this classic. Some may have felt cheated by all these letters and maybe they felt being robbed of witnessing the craftiness of the titular character. The skill of Austen patches up these deficiencies and even in this less ambitious form shows more than glimpses of the author's genius. I was thoroughly entertained by Lady Susan. This is the type of book that deserves to be called a classic. It is a book that has a prepossessing sketch of human nature, with the reader being delighted by the duplicitousness of one and the reactiveness of others. Lady Susan won me over, and that is reflected in my rating, and review.