Lady Susan by Jane Austen "The New Annotated Classic Edition"

Beautiful, flirtatious, and recently widowed, Lady Susan Vernon seeks a new and advantageous marriage for herself, and at the same time attempts to push her daughter into marriage with a man she detests. Through a series of crafty maneuvers, she fills her calendar with invitations for extended visits with unsuspecting relatives and acquaintances in pursuit of her grand plan.

As the plot unfolds, characters are revealed and the suspense builds all through letters exchanged among Lady Susan, her family, friends, and enemies. Described by her rivals as the "most accomplished coquette in England," amply endowed with "captivating deceit," Susan proves to be a remarkable figure, devoid of any redeeming qualities, whose intrigues and devious machinations ultimately lead to disastrous results.

An epistolary novel, Lady Susan is an early work by Austen that was posthumously published in 1871. The short novel focuses on the self-serving eponymous anti-heroine, as she cunningly maneuvers her way through society in search of a wealthy husband for both her daughter and herself. Disregarding anything but her own selfish goals, Susan employs her charms to lure men and draw them into her web of deceit, no matter their age or status. Exploring issues including morals, manners, self-indulgence, malevolence, and social machinations, the relatively short novel is sure to fascinate with its atypical form.

Comprised of forty-one letters, the novel introduces Lady Susan Vernon, a beautiful recent widow in her thirties, who is allowed to stay with her brother-in -law Charles Vernon and his wife Catherine in their family home. Apparently, this move is initiated after Susan is sent packing from the previous residence where she had been residing, due to the exposure of her flagrant affair with a married man. The novel also focuses on Frederica, Susan's timid 16-year old daughter, who is terrorized by her mother, as Susan tries to marry her off to the wealthy, yet fatuous Sir James Martin against her wishes. Furthermore, Susan's skills in manipulation are confirmed when Catherine's younger brother arrives to meet the notoriously scandalous woman, whose name is attached to many raffish rumors. However, having a way with words, Susan effortlessly manipulates and twists the disreputable gossip to her favor and even has the man converted to the position of advocate. Her true nature is revealed through her correspondence with her friend Alicia Johnson, to whom she reveals all her schemes, contrivances, and the true depth of her unscrupulous nature.

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