We learn of her seduction of a married man, Mr. The letters that comprise the story line allow Austen to reveal Lady Susan’s personal thoughts without the “filter” of a third person narrative. Lady Susan is beautiful and enchanting, excessively so. Like me, I am certain many of you have seen “Love and Friendship.” If you have not seen the flick, but plan to do so, know that the character of Lady Susan is NOT your usual Austen fare. Others would say the nature of the character of Lady Susan was not in line with the image Austen’s family wished to portray to the world of first their sister and later their favorite aunt.Īusten’s niece Caroline said in a letter to James Edward Austen Leigh (1 April 1869) that “Lady Susan” was written “when the nonsense was passing away and before her wonderful talent had found its proper channel.” Why was “Lady Susan” not published along with the other novels that made an appearance after her death? Some would argue the length of “Lady Susan” did not lend itself to publication in a time where publication was often a hardship on the author. The watermark on the paper she used for the manuscript is 1805. We assume the story was written when Austen was about twenty years of age. “Lady Susan” is written in letter format (epistolary style), which are in first person, with the ending being summed up by a third person narrator. Among those was a complete novella (about 23,000 words in total) entitled “Lady Susan.” If you have not read it, join the Austen Authors’ Read-Along. But what of her “Juvenilia”? Three unfinished (but nearly complete) manuscripts remained, along with other snippets and poetry. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were released after Austen’s death. Needless to say, Crosby had no idea at the time of 1803 purchase that he held a manuscript from “A Lady,” the authoress of Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.Īlthough ill, Austen made some changes in the story line, most obvious was the renaming of the heroine to Catherine Morland.

Shortly before Jane’s passing, her brother Henry bought back the still unpublished manuscript from Crosby for £10 (the amount advanced for the privilege of publishing the story). Originally, it had been sold to Benjamin Crosby & Co. One of those was “Susan,” a short novel that made fun of the convention of Gothic fiction. After Austen’s death, several unpublished works remained.

Lady susan love and friendship