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4/5

I had never read Lady Susan, but since a few of my reading challenges this year needed a book published posthumously this seemed like a perfect choice. It's very different from Austen's other novels as it's both an epistolary novel and all the POV characters are older than in her other works. I wish more of the conclusion had happened in the correspondence instead of in the epilogue, but it's a quick, worthwhile read for any Austen fan.

Day 3: Finished

Lady Susan…4⭐️ 94 p
Halfway to Perfect…5⭐️ 128 p
A Pond full of Ink…5⭐️ 36 p
King of the Wind…4⭐️ 176 p
Total pages over 3 days=688

#NovelNovember #Readathon @Andrew65

Finished #AustenianAugust with one of Jane‘s earliest works. Her fierce wit (and cheeky humor) are on full display throughout this novella, comprised of letters detailing the exploits of the beautiful-charming-and-utterly-despicable titular character. Enjoyed it immensely, but am very glad Austen‘s longer works were centered on more likable characters.

Written as a collection of letters, this novella is deliciously scandalous and completely hilarious. Is Lady Susan a scheming, ruthless homewrecker or a smart woman using whatever advantages she could get during a time when women were considered property and only had any power indirectly through men? However you look at it, it is clever and funny. The juicy stuff is all the better for being between the lines.

Covid, day 3.5 and I‘m tired of Hallmark Christmas in July (gasp!) so I switched on Amazon Prime and found this gem! I hope it‘s as good as it looks! #pemberlittens #ladysusan #austen

Something speaks about Jane Austen‘s talent and it astounds me every time, how she‘s remembered even after an entire century. This book is a testament to that.

It needed some getting used to but once I started I couldn‘t stop! This entire novel is a collection of correspondences between people. The plot becomes clear as we read these letters.
( contd in comments …⬇️)

#MayWrapup I finished three books, and three more are in progress (two #pemberlittens buddy reads and my #bookspin The Love of a Good Woman).
Since I seem to have touched none of my listed books, I'm going to reuse my May list for June 😁 #bookspinbingo @TheAromaofBooks

I‘m not sure how I got so behind this month on my #PemberLittens reads but I‘m now caught up with The Tenant of Wildfell Hall. Jane Austen at Home is another Matter entirely.🤦🏻‍♀️

Finished the final 5 Serial Reader issues of Lady Susan. I forgot how entertaining this novella is. Lady S. Is just so daringly bad for the times! My favorite quote from the book is ⬆️ & I think I‘m going to rewatch of Love and Friendship tonight.💜

#20in4 #readathon

I LOVED Lady Susan. She‘s so dramatic………..I don‘t know how she keeps her stories straight. Thinly veiled barbs……this book was fun. Forgot to post this the other day 😂
#pemberlittens

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was such a fun novella! It reminded me a little bit of Dangerous Liaisons. It has the deception and love triangles but a lot of humor that Austen does so well! So happy to have read this with the #pemberlittens earlier this month!

Still reading Lady Susan……almost done I believe. I had hope that Reginald had seen the light……but no…..thick as ever. At least for now.
#pemberlittens

I'm so glad I found this group. I had never read Lady Susan before.
I think it is my new favorite Austen. I loved the epistilary form. It allows more revelation on the person's actual thoughts. Like Lady Susan looking forward to Mr. Johnson's death so the 2 will be free to conspire again. And Mrs Johnson's lament at Lady Susan's affair being found out."What could I do! Facts are such horrid things!"
Thanks #pemberlittens

I so wish our wonderful Jane could have gone back to re-tool this one. There is so much there - devious Lady Susan, poor maligned Frederica, dim Reginald, potentially two-faced Alicia - and I would have loved to see the story and the characters more fully expanded. The last chapter, shedding the epistolary form, brings so much more life to everything. I wish we could have seen what more time would have yielded. #PemberLittens

Lady Susan was such a fun read! Even in letters, Austen creates such vivid characters. I would have loved for her to have reworked this into a complete novel, full of her depth and commentary on human folly! How fun it would be to see her fully-realized versions of Frederica and Reginald, to meet their developed characters and to watch their love story play out 😍 😔 #pemberlittens

I am not a fan of epistolary novels, but I really enjoyed this book. It could have been all of the scheming and scandals. Glad I joined in the #Pemberlittens read along.

P.S. @sprainedbrain I watched the Prime movie you posted. Sir James - He comes across as even more unaware than in the book. 😳

Thoroughly enjoyed reading this short epistolary novel. As others have said it was like tuning into my favorite soap opera each morning. So much drama!
I loved that the villain was the main character. Really none of the characters were very likeable, which made it more interesting.
My favorite quote was in describing Mr. Johnson as "too old to be agreeable and too young to die" ? Truly wicked women
#pemberlittens thanks @sprainedbrain for hosting

I read Lady Susan last month as part of my #ayearofjaneausten. https://litsy.com/p/WURiVXd0UmF2

So fun to go back for reread with #PemberLittens @sprainedbrain and hear everyone's thoughts.

I honestly cannot believe I had never read this one before! It was absolutely delightful. I loved the contrast between Lady Susan's “polite“ letters and the ones she send to her best friend. I also was cracking up at the letters her sister-in-law was sending to the SIL's mother, full of polite rage. I definitely wanted more of this story, and it's fun to think of how it may have been fledged out into a full-length novel. Would Lady Susan have ⬇

“Your husband I abhor, Reginald I despise, & I am secure of never seeing either again. Have I not reason to rejoice?” Lady Susan is a cold, brutal novella of a narcissist in search of her next prey. There are no murders, but this one reads like Gillian Flynn doing Jane Austen. Her short/unfinished fictions continue to take me by surprise. It makes me think that her published works had to be worked on & polished until it was suitably respectable.

I loved this so much more this time than the first time I read, maybe I was more prepared for Lady Susan this time?

Lady Susan is really something and so manipulative.

I‘m so glad I reread this with the #PemberLittens
@sprainedbrain

This was a wonderful reread… I love the soap opera feel and the scandal, and Austen‘s vicious wit. So much fun! As others have said, I would have liked a novel-length version of this story, but I enjoy it for what it is—Jane was brilliant from a young age!

I do believe I may finally watch Love and Friendship.

Thanks to all of the #PemberLittens who read along, posted, commented, and just made this the usual delightful experience!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

#PemberLittens Dramatic conclusion!

Mrs. J is now forbidden even to write to Lady Susan, on pain of her husband moving her to the country permanently, so the bitchy BFFs can now only hope that he dies soon, along with Mrs. Mainwaring, so Susan can have her man. Reginald retreats home, to the delight of his mom/sister, Susan drags Frederica to town intent on marrying her to Sir James, but ends up marrying him herself for lack of better options. ⬇️

I found this short book delightful. Although the ending is rather abrupt and a bit of a letdown, the brilliant character studies more than make up for it. I love how each letter writer has their own distinctive voice, pretty much like the very recognizable utterances in the dialogues in Austen's later work. ⬇️

A sheer delight! It‘s like watching a soap opera or am awful reality TV show - you cannot turn away! Lady Susan and her hurricane-like personality bursts onto the scene and leaves so much destruction in its path. This has the Austen wit we know so well with characters that will be hard to forget. #PemberLittens

Such a fun little story! It suffers from the switch from epistolary to narrative at the end, but the nastiness of Lady Susan and her friend Alicia is highly entertaining, as is the way the women lead all the men about by the nose. I wish for all the couples in the end to have the happiness in life that they deserve! 😆 #PemberLittens

4.75 🌟

#PemberLittens

Today‘s dramatic Lady Susan action:

Susan is in town, carrying on her affair with married Mr. Mainwaring and plotting to put off her marriage to Reginald by pretending she has some honor (she doesn‘t). Reginald comes to town anyway, and Mrs. Johnson fails to distract him so Susan/Mainwaring can get it on. MRS. Mainwaring shows up and has a chat with Reginald & gouty Mr. Johnson. Reginald ends it, Susan fails to fool him again.😒

This was my first time reading with #serialreader and I loved it. This short story is told through letter writing. And I have to say each day was like tuning into my favorite soap opera. And I was so there for it. Thank you @sprainedbrain for guiding the discussion! I had so much fun reading with my fellow #pemberlittens

I love a good epistolary novel. This one was so much fun. So much melodrama packed into such a short read. I liked the @SerialReader issues…fell behind but then finished early because I had to know Frederica‘s fate. Great pick #PemberLittens! This was my #BookSpin book this month.

Hold on your hats, there's a flurry of departures and near-departures: Reg will go! No, he'll stay! Sir James leaves! So will Lady Susan! Frederica is going, too! No, she's staying! Lady S's lackey Alicia is psyched to hang with her bff 'cuz her husband (who *barred Lady S from their house*) is headed to Bath. But then, ruh-roh, Mr "Uric Acid" Johnson gets wind of Lady S's travel and suddenly has a gout flare-up and can't travel- very convenient!

II. Susan congratulates herself on keeping flirtations to a minimum since her husband has only been dead four months: she has an affair with one married man, flirts with Sir James to get him away from that same married man's daughter, then manipulates Sir James into chasing her own daughter. She repents that she didn't marry James herself since her daughter is having none of it. Such a schemer, OMG this lady! 🤣🤣🤣

The last few letters were so good, I couldn‘t stop reading! What a great finish! This felt both similar and very different from her other books. I though that epistolary format was really effective and added to the story. I think this could be modernized in a really interesting way. #pemberlittens #BookspinBingo @TheAromaofBooks

Today in #PemberLittens Lady Susan:

Lady Susan writes to Mrs. Johnson to gloat about her manipulation of the situation at Churchhill and to make plans for a return to town, as she‘s still determined to make Frederica marry Sir James. Mrs. Johnson thinks Susan should marry Reginald (a fate his sister is dreading) while she can, and is happy to have Susan come deal with Mainwaring, though Susan is forbidden to be at Alicia‘s house by her husband.😂

#pemberlittens I couldn‘t help myself and I finished today. I have mixed emotions of this one. I found so many party hilarious and Lady Susan‘s antics very modern except that she hurt so many people with complete disregard. I felt Lady Susan could have been an amazing feminist figure if she wasn‘t a complete jerk. I found the treatment of her daughter disturbing and so I see no redemption for Lady Susan. I really enjoyed despite Lady Susan!

I couldn‘t resist finishing this a few days ago (also I forgot my other book for kiddo‘s Lego club, which is held in a library but I was trying to resist temptation). It‘s like kettle corn - salty, sweet, addictive, and then mysteriously all gone. It‘s not like the novels, not quite as good, but what is?
#DannyBoy is sulking because he‘s feisty and I won‘t let him wrestle with my bare hand. #catsofLitsy #PemberLittens

#PemberLittens:

Oh you thought Reginald was leaving? Nope!

Mrs. Vernon has to immediately write her mom with the bad news that Reginald is once again under Lady Susan‘s spell and has been manipulated into believing no one (including her daughter) truly knows or understands Susan. Susan does her level best to gaslight Mrs. Vernon over to her side (spoiler: it doesn‘t work). Sir James happily takes his leave, Frederica is still sad, Mrs. V is 😒.

I enjoyed this short book and how it‘s all put in letters. I do prefer Jane Austens novels, but this was a nice little taste from her. I also love Lady Susan as a character that causes chaos‘s everywhere she goes and that you never like her. It‘s different then the books. Quick and enjoyable read.

I‘m surprised by some of the slangy, modern-sounding language in this book! Reginald‘s account is “lame,” Sir James is “not up to par,” and Mrs. Vernon uses “infer” to mean “imply.” I wouldn‘t expect Lady Susan, or even Jane, to know much about golf, so I suppose the phrase “up to par” must have been in ordinary language already. #PemberLittens

#PemberLittens, today in Lady Susan:

Susan is bitching again to the BFF, this time because her daughter has the audacity to continue to refuse to marry the weirdo she groomed for her. She‘s absolutely astounded to find that Reginald actually listened to Frederica and then took her side in the matter. They fight, and miracle of miracles, the spell is broken for Reginald and he‘s heading out, after begging his elated sister to help Frederica.

Sir James arrives uninvited to stay,Lady Susan fears his visit might make her look like a bad mother.Frederica panicking writes to Reginald to ask her to interfere on her favour. Everyone realises that Lady Susan is trying to force her daughter to marry a dope. Reginald decides to leave feeling that he has seen the real Lady Susan. Mrs Vernon is happy but Lady Susan seems to think she has the power to change his mind

#Pemberlittens

Well, I was behind a couple days but got caught up this morning. I am absolutely loving this! #pemberlittens

UGGGHHHHH SIR JAMES GO AWAY. This douche showed up and "talked a good deal..., mixing more frequent laughter with his discourse than the subject required (and) said many things over and over again." Frederica is NOT into it and sits silently through his blather. But she knows her mother is determined to have her marry the crashing bore, and she desperately appeals to Reginald to try and convince Lady S to give a girl a break. #PemberLittens

In today‘s #PemberLittens installment:

Lady Susan writes to her BFF to bitch about her daughter, who she clearly cannot stand,& Frederica‘s refusal to marry Sir James. She‘s hoping to orchestrate a town meeting for the two of them when she can afford it…

But then Sir James just shows up (uninvited) and decides to stay a few days (uninvited). The De Courcys are all astonishment, Frederica is appalled/terrified, & Lady S is on damage control.

Running a little behind posting my #BookSpinBingo board. My #BookSpin is tagged and is part of the #PemberLittens buddy reads this month. I‘m enjoying it so far.

L.Susan's daughter,Frederica,tries to escape school to avoid marrying Sir James and is expelled,she is now living with the Vernons. She develops a crush for Mr De Courcy, who has no idea of her feelings cause he is too busy being in love with her mother. L. Susan finds how shy and awkward is Frederica in front of Mr De Courcy hilarious. Mrs Vernon really likes Frederica and hopes that someday she becomes her sister in law

#Pemberlittens

I‘m today‘s #PemberLittens letters:

Mrs. Vernon continues to worry that Reginald is in Lady Susan‘s snare. Susan is seriously displeased when her teenage daughter tries to run away from boarding school rather than marry one of her mom‘s boyfriends. School won‘t take her back, & Susan is now displeased to have to live with her daughter, & does her best to make all hate Frederica. Mrs. V thinks she‘s ok for having been neglected her whole life.

What a to-do! Frederica can't take it anymore (though we're not quite sure yet what "it" is), and she becomes a teenage runaway! Lady Susan thinks she was running off to elope and must be punished, but Mrs. Vernon sees only a shy, dejected girl dominated by her cruel mother. Frederica comes out of her shell so long as Mommie Dearest isn't nearby, displaying sweet manners, a gentle heart, and what is this...? A fondness for Reginald! #PemberLittens

In today‘s #PemberLittens letters:

Lady Susan writes to her BFF to let her know she‘s now got three men in play: Mr. De Courcy is besotted, but she‘s more into married Mr. Manwaring, and keeping Sir James as a spare.

Then, the De Courcy‘s have a collective freak out over how dumb/lovestruck Reginald is. Sister and mom are concerned, dad spells out his disapproval. Reginald isn‘t planning to marry her, but says everyone has Lady Susan ALL WRONG!

The De Courcy family is on high alert! Mrs V. believes that Reginald will propose to the vile Lady Susan, and Sir Reginald writes a cease-and-desist letter to his son. Reggie sends back a bemused response - Lady Susan is totally misunderstood, a very fine lady and a great mother! But marry her? ...Nah, my dude. Reg is just looking to spend some time with a real intellectual. (Do you believe him, #PemberLittens?)

Mrs Vernon writes to her mother asking her to make an excuse to get her brother out of the house and break the relationship with Lady Susan.Unfortunately her husband reads the letter and writes to his son to tell him how disappointed he is and how he will never forgive him if he marries that cougar. Mr De Courcy (Jr) writes back offended,he doesn't intend to marry Lady Susan but she is amazing and society treats her badly #Pemberlittens