Review--Lady Susan

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Lady SusanLady Susan by Jane Austen
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I enjoyed it very much right up until the end, where it looks like Miss Austen lost steam and ran out of ink.  Far be it from me to criticize Jane Austen, but I can see why Lady Susan is not one of her more popular or oft-read offerings.

Also, the titular protagonist is so very unlike other Austen women who feature in their own books: Lady Susan is an adulteress, manipulative, a terrible mother and snarky and sneaky. On the other hand, her letters (the novel is told in an epistolary fashion) to her BFF Amelia are funny and reveal a woman quite capable of leaving great upheaval wherever she goes.

I believe this book will best be enjoyed by Regency and Austen fans who want to get a contemporary look at what was involved with matchmaking and daily life amongst the gentry.


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