lady susan & other stories
Three stories in one book: Lady Susan, The Watsons and Sanditon. Lady Susan: letters from the perspective of a very difficult mother. The Watsons: an unfinished tale of a girl out of place. Sanditon: A seaside town gets new visitors.
Jane Austen: So basic, so British school book, soooo my-teacher-forced-me-to-read-this.
EXCEPT NOT AT ALL. I love love love Jane. She makes me laugh! Her main characters are so unapologetic about what they want. They’re jealous and rude and indulgent and petty. And so am I! And so silly and fun!
If you’re looking to say you’ve read an Austen, without reading an Austen, I’d go for Lady Susan. It’s super duper short, and packed with hatred and fun! It’s written via letters to and from the various main characters. So you get lots of different perspectives. You get to take sides – I love to take sides!
And then once you’ve read this you’ll want to read more and you’ll read Pride and Prejudice and you’ll read Emma and you’ll scream and shout because it’s so girlhood podcast material so psychoanalysing men and society and so tragically “that’s just the way things are”.
I gave this book to Meg. I’m the book handler, the matchmaker. She says the following:
“Lady Susan is that girl. she’s the OG love to hate girl boss. she’s a terrible person but at least she’s not BLAND. World’s worst mother, friend, aunt, girlfriend. Would love to drink wine with her – she’d nail my insecurities with one look and probably make me cry but that’s hot.
The actual book is really fun – it’s short, and it’s gossip central. because it’s epistolary, you really feel like you’re overhearing conversations on the train, or like your co-worker / insane aunt is telling you all the details.”
As for The Watsons , I was caught WAY off guard with it being unfinished. I was invested! I was in! And then it was over! It was punctuated wiht a small note written by a distant relative of Jane’s about how the book was meant to end. But i’m sckeptical and it didn’t satisfy.
And then it was the same for Sanditon!!!
!
Fool me twice! Shame on me. A great slice of what could have been though: a busy bustling novel.
if you enjoyed lady susan and other stories you might enjoy:
Up at the Villa
William Somerset Maugham
heartburn
Nora Ephron