Written in 1795, Jane Austen's epistolary novel Lady Susan brims with satire and wit. The recently widowed Lady Susan is beautiful and attractive, yet selfish and manipulative. She flirts atrociously in order to secure a good marriage not only for herself but for her daughter as well.
Lady Susan was a Jane Austen novel I had not yet read, and with the recent release of the film Love & Friendship, thought this would be as good a time as any. Lady Susan, one of Austen's novellas, was as witty as ever but it did take me a while to get into. The novel was compiled of letters and I needed time to adjust and get the characters in order. Once I got in the flow I enjoyed the novella more and grew to loath Lady Susan and her conniving Bitchy ways (and yes the capital B is intentional). Otherwise, the characters, Fredrica, Reginald, Alicia, etc were unremarkable and to be honest, quite forgettable.
After seeing the film, it saddens me to say that it is one of the few occasions where the movie is better. I felt the imagery was better and the plot did not feel as disjointed as its book counterpart. While it was still a little slow, the costumes (oh the bustles!) made up for it.
Overall, despite my oh so wanting to like them both were a disappointment from a favored author.
Reading updates
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Started reading
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9 June, 2016:
Finished reading
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9 June, 2016:
Reviewed