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Lady Susan by Jane Austen
Lady Susan
is a short epistolary novel by
Jane Austen
, possibly written in 1794 but not published until 1871.
This epistolary novel, an early complete work that the author never submitted for publication, describes the schemes of the main character—the widowed
Lady Susan
—as she seeks a new husband for herself, and one for her daughter. Although the theme, together with the focus on character study and moral issues, is close to Austen's published work (
Sense and Sensibility
was also originally written in the epistolary form), its outlook is very different, and the heroine has few parallels in 19th-century literature.
Lady Susan
is a selfish, attractive woman, who tries to trap the best possible husband while maintaining a relationship with a married man...
She subverts all the standards of the romantic novel: she has an active role, she's not only beautiful but intelligent and witty, and her suitors are significantly younger than she is (in contrast with
Sense and Sensibility
and
Emma
, which feature marriages of men who are sixteen years older than their wives). Although the ending includes a traditional reward for morality,
Lady Susan
herself is treated much more mildly than the adulteress in
Mansfield Park
, who is severely punished.
The main character
Lady Susan
, at around 30 to 40 years old, she is a widow of just a few months, who is known to flagrantly manipulate and seduce single and married men alike. She uses flirtation and seduction to gain her way through life... (Summary by Wikipedia)
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