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3.69 AVERAGE
3.69 AVERAGE
I wish she had finished The Watsons. It had so much potential to be so empowering for women. Lady Swan is now my favorite Jane Austin book, even when unfinished. It's juicy as can be. Sandition was incredibly dry.
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The watsons was okay i guess, i thought lady susan was the best and had lots of drama and manipulation. Not a big fan of Sandition because nothing really happened in the chapters that got written.
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read [b:Pride and Prejudice|1885|Pride and Prejudice|Jane Austen|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1320399351s/1885.jpg|3060926] once a year and I've read most of Austen's other novels at least twice, so it was inevitable I'd get around to reading the unfinished ones and with the release of the Love & Friendship film, I had to get on that.
Lady Susan was surprisingly lively for an epistolary. It's not my favorite genre, but Austen's wit shone through and it was very interesting to see her take the perspective of a heroine who was pretty terrible and switch views back and forth (since her writing style usually more closely aligns with the perspective of her heroine). It was an easy read and very funny.
The Watsons starts more in medias res than Sanditon, so I was ready for the story to keep going and incredibly interested in Emma Watson and her estranged siblings (also whatever Tom Musgrave was going to get up to). The abrupt end of that one left me heartbroken, but Sanditon hadn't really gotten started yet so I wasn't too attached to the characters (although very curious about a non-white character just introduced).
Definitely a great exercise for an Austen addict to read all the bits and pieces that could have been, but I'd only really recommend Lady Susan (and Love & Friendship ended up being a great adaptation, though I still don't understand the name change), because obviously the other two remain unfinished.
Lady Susan was surprisingly lively for an epistolary. It's not my favorite genre, but Austen's wit shone through and it was very interesting to see her take the perspective of a heroine who was pretty terrible and switch views back and forth (since her writing style usually more closely aligns with the perspective of her heroine). It was an easy read and very funny.
The Watsons starts more in medias res than Sanditon, so I was ready for the story to keep going and incredibly interested in Emma Watson and her estranged siblings (also whatever Tom Musgrave was going to get up to). The abrupt end of that one left me heartbroken, but Sanditon hadn't really gotten started yet so I wasn't too attached to the characters (although very curious about a non-white character just introduced).
Definitely a great exercise for an Austen addict to read all the bits and pieces that could have been, but I'd only really recommend Lady Susan (and Love & Friendship ended up being a great adaptation, though I still don't understand the name change), because obviously the other two remain unfinished.
I re-read Lady Susan (for probably the 4th or 5th time) for my Jane Austen Book Club and enjoyed just as much as always. Just love the wickedest of Jane Austen's heroines. This epistolary novel may not have the intricacy of plot, complexity of character, or emotional depth of Austen's major novels. But it is so much fun to read.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
An interesting collection of unpublished and unfinished Jane Austen writing. You can really tell how young she was when writing Lady Susan and I love to see the progression in her writing style. I think Sandition was my favourite and I would have loved to see what the final story would have been.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Three different stories, all very amusing and well written. Lady Susan is an epistolary book, which reminded me a lot of Les Liaisons Dangereuses. Lady Susan is a wicked and ruthless (a bit like the Marquise de Merteuil, but not that bad) widow, who uses her feminine charms whenever she has too. She intends to have her daughter Federica marries against her own inclination. Lady Susan's ruthlessness and way of acting reminded me of someone I used to know: setting people up against one another, so it's very well written. It's not as mature as her other works, yet it is very entertaining.
The Watsons is very promising as well, but not finished which is a pity. Emma is a very loveable character, who gradually gains respect, mainly y dancing with a young boy. It's a shame Austen abandoned it.
That's also the case for Sanditon which starts out very differently from all the other Austen novels, far more gloomy, as if new times are coming ahead. Austen wrote it when she was already quite ill. There are three hypochondriacs in the story who are very funny. Why did she incorporate them? To cope with her Addison's disease? I wonder whom Charlotte Heywood would marry in the end. Sidney Parker? We'll never know ...
The Watsons is very promising as well, but not finished which is a pity. Emma is a very loveable character, who gradually gains respect, mainly y dancing with a young boy. It's a shame Austen abandoned it.
That's also the case for Sanditon which starts out very differently from all the other Austen novels, far more gloomy, as if new times are coming ahead. Austen wrote it when she was already quite ill. There are three hypochondriacs in the story who are very funny. Why did she incorporate them? To cope with her Addison's disease? I wonder whom Charlotte Heywood would marry in the end. Sidney Parker? We'll never know ...
Lady Susan is quite similar to earlier Austen but it's The Watsons and Sanditon that really stand out. I think they are her best work - and I wish I knew what she had planned on doing with them. Very worth reading for Austen fans even though it is incomplete.