Lady Susan - I Watson - Sanditon

Di Jane Austen

Con un saggio di Marcel Proust
Introduzioni di Massimo Colesanti, Mario Lunetta e Nicola Muschitiello
Traduzioni di Ottavio Cecchi e Maurizio Grasso
Edizioni integrali

La pubblicazione di Madame Bovary ha creato il primo e più clamoroso caso di intervento censorio pubblico ai danni di un’opera moderna: insieme al successo, infatti, lo scrittore ottenne una incriminazione per oltraggio alla morale pubblica e alla religione, da cui, peraltro, fu assolto. La sua Emma è diventata immediatamente il simbolo del disagio e dell’insofferenza borghese: vittima di una sorta di “vampirismo” che le procura appetiti e desideri sempre crescenti e un’infelicità sempre più vorticosa, è destinata a soccombere alla sua stessa smaniosa irrequietezza.
I Tre racconti sono considerati autentici vertici dell’arte di Flaubert, per alcuni critici addirittura il suo capolavoro. Alla lirica essenzialità di Un cuore semplice, “epos” della più umile realtà quotidiana, segue la conversione mistica al culmine di una vita dissoluta in La leggenda di San Giuliano Ospitaliere, fino agli splendori materiali e alle miserie morali della Giudea precristiana dell’Erodiade. Tre gioielli di perfezione stilistica ed essenzialità espressiva.

«Pareva che un artista, abile corruttore, le avesse disposto sulla nuca la treccia dei capelli, avvolti in una massa pesante, negligentemente, secondo il capriccio dell’adulterio che tutti i giorni li scioglieva.»


Gustave Flaubert
nacque nel 1821 a Rouen. Iniziò giovanissimo a scrivere racconti, novelle e pièces storiche. Nel 1840 si iscrisse alla facoltà di legge di Parigi, ma non terminò gli studi. A questo periodo risalgono i primi contatti con i circoli letterari della capitale. Nel 1846 tornerà nella provincia di Rouen, dove morirà nel 1880.

• Lingua: Italiano
• Editore: Newton Compton Editori
• Data di uscita: 16 dic 2013
• ISBN: 9788854128491

Jane Austen

Jane Austen nació en 1775 en Steventon (Hampshire), séptima de los ocho hijos del rector de la parroquia. Educada principalmente por su padre, empezó a escribir de muy joven, para recreo de la familia, y a los veintitrés años envió a los editores el manuscrito de La abadía de Northanger, que fue rechazado. Trece años después, en 1811, conseguiría publicar Juicio y sentimiento, a la que pronto seguirían Orgullo y prejuicio (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) y Emma (1816), que obtuvieron un gran éxito. Después de su muerte, acaecida prematuramente en 1817, y que le impidió concluir su novela SanditonLa abadía de Northanger, Persuasión (1818). Satírica, antirromántica, profunda y tan primorosa como mordaz, la obra de Jane Austen nace toda ella de una inquieta observación de la vida doméstica y de una estética necesidad de orden moral. «La Sabidu-ría –escribió una vez- es mejor que el Ingenio, y a la larga tendrá sin duda la risa de su parte.»

Anteprima del libro

Lady Susan

Lettera 1. Lady Susan Vernon a Mr Vernon

Langford, dicembre

Mio caro cognato,

non posso più rinunciare al piacere di approfittare del gentile invito che mi avete rivolto l’ultima volta che ci siamo lasciati, a trascorrere qualche settimana a Churchill, e quindi, se voi e Mrs Vernon non avete nulla in contrario a ricevermi subito, posso sperare di incontrare tra pochi giorni una cognata che da tanto tempo desidero conoscere. I miei gentili ospiti, qui, insistono affettuosamente perché prolunghi la permanenza, ma la loro natura allegra e socievole li porta a condurre una vita troppo mondana per la mia attuale situazione e per il mio stato d’animo, e aspetto con impazienza il momento in cui sarò accolta nella vostra bella dimora. Non vedo l’ora di conoscere i vostri cari, piccoli bambini, e conquistare subito un posto nel loro cuore. Avrò, così, occasione di usare tutta la mia forza d’animo, poiché sto per separarmi dalla mia stessa figlia. La lunga malattia del suo caro padre mi ha impedito di dedicarle le attenzioni che il dovere e l’amore avrebbero richiesto, e ho fin troppi motivi di credere che la governante, alle cui cure l’avevo affidata, non sia stata all’altezza del suo compito. Ho deciso, dunque, di iscriverla presso una delle migliori scuole private di Londra, dove potrò accompagnarla personalmente, venendo da voi. Come vedete, sono più che determinata a non farmi negare l’ospitalità a Churchill. E sarebbe per me un grande dispiacere sapere che non siete in condizioni di ricevermi.

La vostra grata e affezionatissima cognata

Susan Vernon

Lettera 2. Lady Susan a Mrs Johnson

Langford

Hai sbagliato, mia cara Alicia, a pensare che sarei rimasta in questo posto per tutto l’inverno. Mi addolora dirti quanto tu sia stata in errore, poiché raramente ho trascorso tre mesi più piacevoli di quelli che sono appena volati via. Al momento, nulla fila liscio. Le donne della famiglia si sono alleate contro di me. Quando sono arrivata a Langford la prima volta, tu avevi previsto come sarebbe andata; e Manwaring è così straordinariamente attraente, che io stessa ho provato una certa inquietudine.

Ricordo di essermi detta, mentre mi dirigevo verso la casa: «Quest’uomo mi piace; voglia il cielo che non ne venga alcun danno!». Ma ero decisa a dimostrarmi discreta, a tenere a mente che sono vedova da soli quattro mesi, e a restare più tranquilla possibile, e così ho fatto; mia cara amica, non ho accettato altre attenzioni se non quelle di Manwaring, ho evitato di flirtare con chiunque altro, non ho preso in considerazione nessuno dei tanti ospiti che frequentavano la casa, a eccezione di Sir James Martin, al quale ho concesso un briciolo d’attenzione per distoglierlo da Miss Manwaring. Ma se il mondo fosse a conoscenza delle mie ragioni, tutti mi renderebbero onore. Sono stata giudicata una cattiva madre, eppure è stato il sacro impulso dell’amore materno a guidarmi, nell’interesse di mia figlia; e se mia figlia non fosse la ragazza più sprovveduta sulla faccia della terra, sarei stata giustamente ricompensata per i miei sforzi. Sir James mi ha chiesto la mano di Frederica, ma Frederica, che da quando è nata non fa che darmi preoccupazioni, si è opposta a questo matrimonio così impetuosamente, che ho preferito accantonare il progetto, almeno per il momento. Mi sono pentita più di una volta di non averlo sposato io stessa, e se solo non fosse così indegnamente privo di carattere certamente l’avrei fatto, ma devo ammettere di essere alquanto romantica sotto questo aspetto, e la sola ricchezza non mi avrebbe appagata. Il risultato di tutto ciò è piuttosto seccante: Sir James se n’è andato, Maria è furibonda, e Mrs Manwaring insopportabilmente gelosa; per farla breve, è così gelosa e in collera con me, che non mi sorprenderebbe se, in un accesso d’ira, decidesse di ricorrere al suo tutore, avendone la possibilità; ma in questo tuo marito è dalla mia parte, e l’azione più apprezzabile, la più nobile della sua vita, è stata cacciarla via per sempre quando si è sposata. Ti raccomando, perciò, di mantenere vivo il suo risentimento. Ora ci troviamo in una triste situazione: l’atmosfera è del tutto cambiata, la famiglia intera è sul piede di guerra e Manwaring quasi non osa rivolgermi la parola. È giunto il momento di andar via; quindi ho deciso di lasciarli e spero di riuscire a passare con te una piacevole giornata in città, entro la fine della settimana. Se, come sempre, risultassi poco gradita a Mr Johnson, dovrai venire tu da me al numero 10 di Wigmore Street, ma spero che non sia necessario: con tutti i suoi difetti Mr Johnson è un uomo che continua a meritare l’appellativo di rispettabile, e poiché è risaputo che sono intima amica di sua moglie, mancarmi di rispetto gli creerebbe non poco imbarazzo. Passerò per Londra nel corso del mio viaggio verso quell’insopportabile paesino di campagna. È proprio così, sono davvero diretta a Churchill. Perdonami mia cara amica, è la mia ultima risorsa. Se esistesse un altro luogo qualsiasi in Inghilterra disposto ad accogliermi, lo preferirei. Detesto Charles Vernon e temo sua moglie. In ogni caso è a Churchill che dovrò trattenermi, almeno finché non mi si presenterà un’occasione migliore. La mia signorina mi accompagnerà in città, dove la affiderò alle cure di Miss Summers, in Wigmore Street, fino a quando non avrà riacquistato la debita ragionevolezza. Lì potrà allacciare ottime amicizie, quelle ragazze appartengono tutte alle migliori famiglie. La retta è altissima, e supera di gran lunga le mie possibilità.

Adieu. Ti manderò due righe al mio arrivo in città.

Sempre tua,

Susan Vernon

Lettera 3. Mrs Vernon a Lady De Courcy

Churchill

Mia cara mamma,

mi dispiace molto comunicarvi che non potremo mantenere la promessa di trascorrere il Natale con voi; oltretutto, da questa rinuncia non otterremo niente in cambio. In una lettera al cognato, Lady Susan ha dichiarato l’intenzione di farci visita quanto prima, e dato che molto probabilmente si tratterà di una questione d’interesse, è impossibile prevederne la durata. Non ero affatto preparata a questa eventualità, né, al momento, riesco a spiegarmi il comportamento di Sua Signoria. Langford, sotto tutti gli aspetti, sembrava proprio il luogo adatto a lei: considerando lo stile di vita elegante e dispendioso che vi si conduce, e l’amicizia che la lega a Mrs Manwaring, non mi aspettavo di avere così presto un simile onore; sebbene avessi supposto, visto il suo atteggiamento sempre più amichevole dopo la morte del marito, che a breve saremmo stati costretti a ospitarla. Credo che Mr Vernon sia stato fin troppo gentile con lei, quando era nello Staffordshire. Pur senza tener conto della sua reputazione, il comportamento imperdonabile che quella donna ha tenuto con lui sin dal primo accenno al nostro matrimonio, è stato così abile e meschino che nessun uomo meno mite e disponibile avrebbe potuto tollerarlo. Per quanto sia stato opportuno sostenere finanziariamente la vedova del fratello, per giunta in gravi ristrettezze, non posso fare a meno di pensare che invitarla con insistenza qui a Churchill non fosse assolutamente necessario. È così propenso a pensare sempre bene di tutti che a lei è bastato mostrarsi affranta, dichiarare il suo rammarico e formulare vaghi propositi di prudenza, per intenerirlo e riconquistare la sua fiducia. Ma per quanto mi riguarda, non sono ancora convinta; e naturalmente, ora che Sua Signoria ha scritto, non posso formulare un giudizio finché non avrò compreso il vero motivo della sua visita. Potete quindi immaginare, cara mamma, con quale stato d’animo aspetti il suo arrivo. Avrà certo occasione di sfoderare tutte le sue note doti di fascinazione per conquistare un po’ della mia stima; ma io farò tutto il possibile per sottrarmi alla sua influenza, se non sarà sostenuta da qualcosa di più concreto. Dichiara di essere ansiosa di conoscermi e accenna con molta dolcezza ai miei bambini, ma non sono così sprovveduta da credere che una donna che si è mostrata negligente, se non addirittura crudele, con sua figlia, possa affezionarsi ai miei. Sistemerà Miss Vernon in una scuola a Londra prima di venire da noi, e io ne sono lieta, per lei e per me. Stare lontana dalla madre non potrà che giovarle, inoltre la compagnia di una sedicenne che ha ricevuto una pessima educazione non sarebbe certo auspicabile per noi. So che Reginald desiderava da tempo incontrare questa affascinante Lady Susan, e speriamo quindi che ci raggiunga presto. Sono lieta di sapere che mio padre continua a star bene, e vi mando i miei saluti più affettuosi ecc.,

Catherine Vernon

Lettera 4. Mr De Courcy a Mrs Vernon

Parklands

Mia cara sorella,

mi congratulo con te e Mr Vernon che state per accogliere in famiglia la più scaltra civetta di tutta l’Inghilterra. Che fosse nota per questo l’ho sempre saputo, ma ultimamente mi è capitato di ascoltare alcuni particolari sulla sua condotta a Langford, che dimostrano come non si limiti alle oneste civetterie di cui si accontentano i più, ma aspiri al sottile piacere di togliere la pace a un’intera famiglia. Il suo comportamento con Mr Manwaring ha reso gelosa e infelice la moglie, e le attenzioni rivolte a un giovanotto che prima corteggiava la sorella di Manwaring, hanno privato un’amabile fanciulla del suo innamorato. Ho appreso tutto questo da un certo Smith, che ho incontrato a cena da Hurst e Wildford quando era appena tornato da un soggiorno a Langford, dove è stato ospite per due settimane proprio insieme a Sua Signoria, ed è quindi un testimone attendibile.

Che donna dev’essere! Non vedo l’ora di incontrarla e accetterò senz’altro il vostro invito, così da farmi un’idea delle doti di seduttrice che le hanno dato il potere di conquistare, allo stesso tempo e nella stessa casa, il cuore di due uomini, nessuno dei quali era libero, e per giunta senza più essere giovanissima. Sono lieto di sapere che Miss Vernon non verrà a Churchill con sua madre, dato che la sua educazione non la rende un’ospite raccomandabile, e secondo la descrizione di Mr Smith, è tanto ottusa quanto orgogliosa. Quando all’orgoglio si unisce la stupidità, non c’è dissimulazione che possa tenere, e Miss Vernon sarà ripagata col disprezzo che merita. Da tutto ciò ho potuto intuire che Lady Susan possiede una certa affascinante ambiguità, e sarà piacevole osservarla e smascherarla. Vi raggiungerò al più presto.

Il tuo affezionatissimo fratello

Reginald De Courcy

Lettera 5. Lady Susan a Mrs Johnson

Churchill

Ho ricevuto il tuo biglietto, mia cara Alicia, giusto poco prima di partire da Londra e sono lieta di sapere che Mr Johnson non abbia sospettato nulla del tuo appuntamento dell’altra sera. Ingannarlo è senz’altro la cosa da farsi; dal momento che è così testardo, bisogna prenderlo in giro. Sono arrivata sana e salva e non ho ragione di lagnarmi dell’accoglienza di Mr Vernon, ma, sinceramente, non sono altrettanto soddisfatta del comportamento della sua signora. Senza dubbio è molto educata e possiede una certa eleganza, ma le sue maniere non sono tali da convincermi che sia bendisposta nei miei confronti. Durante il nostro incontro mi sono mostrata amabilissima, poiché volevo entrare subito nelle sue grazie: tutto inutile, non le piaccio. A dire il vero, considerando quanto mi sono data da fare per impedire che mio cognato la sposasse, la sua diffidenza non mi stupisce; e comunque ella rivela un animo meschino e vendicativo nel portarmi rancore per un progetto che ho accarezzato sei anni fa, e che alla fine non ha avuto alcun successo. Qualche volta mi rammarico di non aver lasciato che Charles comprasse il castello di Vernon, quando siamo stati costretti a venderlo. Ma era una situazione difficile, dal momento che la vendita si svolse proprio nel periodo del suo matrimonio, e tutti dovrebbero rispettare la delicatezza di quei sentimenti: non potevo tollerare che la dignità di mio marito venisse screditata consentendo al fratello minore di diventare il proprietario della tenuta di famiglia. Se fosse stato possibile sistemare le cose in modo tale da non dover lasciare il castello, se ci fosse stato possibile vivere con Charles facendo sì che rimanesse celibe, non mi sarei certo adoperata per convincere mio marito a disporre le cose diversamente, ma Charles era proprio sul punto di sposare Miss De Courcy, e la storia mi ha dato ragione. Qui i bambini abbondano, e che beneficio ne avrei avuto se Charles avesse comprato Vernon? Forse, averlo impedito mi ha messo in cattiva luce agli occhi di sua moglie, ma quando si vuole prendere qualcuno in antipatia, un motivo si trova sempre; e quanto ai soldi, quel che è successo non ha certo impedito a Charles di essermi molto utile. Mi è tanto caro: è così facile raggirarlo!

La casa è bella, l’arredamento alla moda, e ogni cosa rivela lusso ed eleganza. Charles dev’essere ricchissimo, ne sono certa: quando un uomo è socio di una banca privata sguazza nel denaro. Eppure non sanno che farsene della loro fortuna, ricevono pochissimi ospiti e non vanno mai a Londra, se non per affari. Ci annoieremo a morte. Ho intenzione di conquistare mia cognata attraverso i bambini: so già tutti i loro nomi e prenderò a cuore in particolare uno di loro, il giovane Frederic, che tengo sulle ginocchia sospirando per via del suo caro zio.

Povero Manwaring! Non c’è bisogno che ti dica quanto mi manca e come sia costantemente nei miei pensieri. Al mio arrivo ho trovato una sua lettera davvero sconfortante, piena di lamentele nei confronti della moglie e della sorella, e di recriminazioni contro il suo crudele destino. Con i Vernon l’ho fatta passare per una lettera di sua moglie, e quando gli risponderò, fingerò di scrivere a te.

Sempre tua,

S.V.

Lettera 6. Mrs Vernon a Mr De Courcy

Churchill

Dunque, mio caro Reginald, ho incontrato questa creatura pericolosa e te la descriverò, anche se spero che sarai presto in grado di giudicarla personalmente. Ella è davvero molto attraente, e se tu mi domandassi dove risiede il fascino di una signora non più giovane, dovrei dal canto mio ammettere che di rado ho incontrato una donna bella quanto Lady Susan. È di un biondo delicato, ha begli occhi grigi e ciglia scure e, dal suo aspetto, nessuno le darebbe più di venticinque anni, anche se in realtà deve averne dieci di più. Sebbene avessi sempre sentito dire che era bella, non ero certo incline ad ammirarla; tuttavia non posso non accorgermi che in lei si fondono, in maniera straordinaria, bellezza classica, grazia e vivacità. Pur non essendoci mai conosciute prima, si è rivolta a me con fare così gentile, sincero e perfino affettuoso che, se non fossi al corrente della antipatia che nutre per me a causa del mio matrimonio con Mr Vernon, avrei dovuto crederla una cara amica. Siamo soliti associare alla civetteria comportamenti sfrontati, e ci aspettiamo che a un animo impudente corrispondano modi altrettanto impudenti; infine mi aspettavo che Lady Susan mostrasse un’inopportuna confidenza, invece ha un’espressione dolcissima, e la sua voce e i suoi modi amabili la rendono oltremodo affascinante. Mi spiace che sia così, perché di cos’altro potrebbe trattarsi se non di una finzione? Purtroppo la conosco troppo bene. È intelligente e simpatica, usa abilmente tutti i mezzi necessari a rendere piacevole la conversazione e parla molto bene, con una felice padronanza della lingua, che ella utilizza spesso, mi pare, per trasformare in bianco il nero. Mi ha già convinto del suo affettuoso attaccamento per la figlia, nonostante fossi sempre stata certa del contrario. Me ne parla con tanta apprensione e tenerezza, rammaricandosi così amaramente che la sua educazione sia stata trascurata (circostanza che lei considera quasi una fatalità) che, per riuscire a non dare credito a qualsiasi sua affermazione, sono costretta a ricordare a me stessa quante primavere Sua Signoria ha trascorso in città, mentre lasciava la figlia nello Staffordshire alle cure dei domestici, o di una governante appena poco migliore di

Recensioni su Lady Susan - I Watson - Sanditon

[amanda4242_1 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Lady Susan is a treat, with a deliciously wicked title character; it's slightly trashy and catty as hell and I really can't recommend it enough.The Watsons is an abandoned novel of an impoverished woman of respectable family trying to find a suitable match; it's little more than a sketch and most of what's there looks like it would become parts of Austen's major novels. The unfinished Sanditon is a satirical look at a seaside resort and is much more polished than the other two works; it has the seeds of what could have been a masterpiece.

[benfulton · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

I really liked Lady Susan. Jane Austen once wrote to her niece that she had been able to pick out the adulteress right away at a party she had been to. Was the the basis of Lady Susan? Could have been, but one thing is sure: Susan is nothing like any other character in any Austen novel. Sensual, manipulative, and unapologetic, she moves through the world like a tigress, and events and people must shape themselves around her. Austen started this as a young writer, and it would have been fascinating had she the time nearer the end of her life to take it up again, from the perspective of age. As it is, Susan ends up badly in the short synopsis which takes the place of the second half of the story, which is something of a shame.The other two stories in this volume are both shorter and more traditional Austen. One tends to see The Watsons as perhaps an early version of Sense and Sensibility, and while it would have been nice if Ms. Austen had managed to write any other book, Watsons does not seem to push Jane's ouvre much.Sanditon had a bit more potential, with its wistul comparisons of the calm and relaxed late eighteenth century, to the leaps and bounds of the early nineteenth. As they stand, the characters are a bit coarsely drawn; almost caricatures, but they might have been expanded more as Jane thought them through. Neither of the last two fragments can compare to the full stories, though; to my mind it is only Susan that can really be regretted.

[bohemima · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Lady Susan, The Watson’s, Sanditon is an omnibus volume of Jane Austen’s earlier works. She is much more cutting here than in her later, better-known volumes. Lady Susan is a complete beast of a woman: conniving, manipulative, and thoroughly selfish. She attempts to marry her daughter to a much older man, completely against the girl’s will, and tries to match herself up with a true catch. This being Austen, all does end well; the rather mean delight is in seeing Lady Susan fail.The Watsons is the weakest of the three stories here. Emma Watson has to return to her father’s home after living with a wealthy aunt. The story is unfinished, so we can appreciate Emma’s chagrin at the behavior of her siblings, but that’s all.Sanditon is full of delicious characters. Lady Denham, in particular, stands out as an unbelievably vain woman who has to be the most important person at all times. The thin plot involves the development of a seaside resort. Although Austen didn’t live to finish the book, it’s clear that this would have been a lighthearted look at the foibles of those attempting to be just a bit more significant than they really are.Edit

[thedivineoomba · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

As a volume of mostly incomplete stories, these short works showcase Jane Austins Talent. As always, some are better than others, but they span Ms. Austin's writing career. Its a shame that the The Watsons and Sanditon are incomplete.The first story, Lady Susan, was written at the start of Jane Austin's Career. The story is complete, but very uneven. Lady Susan is a big personality, taking up most of the story. Incredibly egotistical, she uses her daughter to improve her own statue. As for the ending, I think Ms. Austin just gave up. It is finished with an epilogue, explaining what happened to all the characters. The good comes out on top, the wicked gets her comeuppance.As for the Watsons - its unfortunate that the story isn't finished. There is everything a reader could want - orphan with no money, silly relatives, a love interest and wit. The ending of the story is fairly predictable, but I suspect that the aunt would have made a return, possibly with money. Last is Sanditon - its a much thicker story than The Watsons or Lady Susan. My initial thoughts were annoyance, but with themes of a changing world, and a social standings, it has potential. Its too bad that this story wasn't finished. It has so much potential to address social standings, a changing world and small town economy, and of course, relationships.One last thing - there is an introduction by the editor - Ms. Margaret Drabble. I think she sometimes misses the point of the stories. She also makes connections that aren't there. Of course, my edition was from the 1970's, so it might be opinions from a different time.

[ericcostello-1 · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

A collection of what could be described as "off-cuts." The volume contains three stories: the first, "Lady Susan," was a very early work of Austen's, and takes the form of a series of letters among the protagonists. It was not published in Austen's lifetime (though it was evidently advanced to the point where a fair copy was made); while I'm not with G.K. Chesterston, who is quoted on the back of this volume as being willing to have "left "Lady Susan" in the wastepaper basket" (I find it interesting Penguin was so defensive to put that quote right at the top of the back of the cover blurb), the story didn't really work for me. It was very difficult to follow who was saying what to whom without a great deal of work, and I didn't find many of the characters to be engaging. "The Watsons," the second work in the volume, was an uncompleted novel that was put aside by Austen around the time of the death of her father. This was still in an early draft form when she stopped work on it, and the two problems I had with it were firstly that there's not enough of a story to figure out where things are going, and secondly, none of the characters are engaging to me. That could be because Austen had not yet had the "space" to flesh them out. What saves this volume is the last entry, "Sandition," which was uncompleted at the time of Austen's early death. The setting, an up-and-coming oceanside resort, is full of possibilities, and there's much in the way of social chess-matches going on. The observer of all the goings-on, Charlotte, comes off surprisingly well as a critical bystander, and the gang of entrepreneurs, hypochondriacs, social-climbers and legacy-schemers is entertaining. "Sandition" likely reflects an author that was far more mature in her skill, and more fairly, had had some time to work on the novel. This collection is, I think, for Austen completists, and should not be read as an introduction to Austen's work -- which is what happened here with me! Drabble's introduction, by the way, is a good one, and does much to throw some light on the works.

[helenliz_1 · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

I'm both a completist and not a huge fan of Jane Austen, so it was with mixed feeling si approached this book of unpublished works. 2 were incomplete, the third completed, but much shorter and less polished than her published works. The Watsons and Sanditon were just so-so, so much Jane Austen. The one I enjoyed the most was the once most unlike her later style. Lady Susan is written as a series of letters and she can;t ;pull it off effectively for the entire story. It also features a character who is quite ungenteel, in the titual anti-heroine. Lady Susan is a gold digger and is out for force her daughter Frederica into a mariage with a very stupid man, while Lady Susan embarks on affairs and generally breaking up happy familes. It is not an effective piece of writing, in that there is nothing to balance Lady Susan, no light and shade, it dominated by Susan and there's no clear contrast to be found. But I found it so different from the usual tale of manners and repression that i quite enjoyed it.

[princess0starr · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

Since this is three short works, I’ll tackle this individually.

Lady Susan: While it’s different to have a novel mostly told through the perspective of a villain—I hesitate to use antagonist—this is really over-the-top. Lady Susan pettily laughs, her daughter sobs every five seconds, and everyone else goes “Oh no! What a horrid woman!” It’s like if Catherine from Northanger Abbey tried writing a novel, with the wild characterization and the way the book ends.

The Watsons: The problem with this and Sandition is that the text just stops with little or none explanation or idea of where the plot was going. The Watsons starts off as atypical Austen—young lady in society, is courted by wealthy and handsome gentlemen, but the fact that the book stops right as the plot is really beginning makes it hard to connect with. The editor’s note of Austen’s plans for the book doesn’t reveal much, either, as there are only vague plot details.

Sandition: Much like The Watsons, the plot stops as it’s getting started, but we’re not left with a short description of what could have happened. While these give some different styles Jane Austen worked on during her life, I’m really not a fan of unfinished products, if only because it’s so jarring to have the book end and knowing that you can’t really recreate the rest.

[upstairsgirl · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

For once, the Penguin Classics introductory material adds to the experience of reading the main work, rather than giving away too much, though, of course, all the works included here are more or less not completely finished. Although the editors posit that one will find Lady Susan to be the least satisfactory, I found Sanditon to be dull and a chore to read, whereas Lady Susan, however limiting its epistolary form might be, is certainly fascinating.

[lisamaria_c · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

This definitely shouldn't be your introduction to Jane Austen, and imagine it would only be picked up by avid fans like myself having read and reread her six mature completed novels and hungry for more. Lady Susan, which feels truncated, is a very early epistolary novel, and The Watsons was abandoned and Sandition left incomplete upon Austen's death.Lady Susan, which starts this volume, is really a novella, not a novel--it's only 23,021 words. It was written in 1794 when Austen was still in her teens. I found it hard to get into at first. Unlike her mature, completed novels, this is an epistolary novel told in letters, not third-person narration. The story feels thin compared to those other works as a result, although about halfway through we got more of a sense of scenes, with actual dialogue. It's not that I don't find it worth reading. This is very different in tone than Austen's other novels--her titular heroine is a villain--a catty and malicious adulteress trying to force her daughter Frederica into a marriage of convenience. But if I weren't an Austen fan, I doubt I'd have persisted in reading it far enough for the fascination of Lady Susan's machinations to take hold, although take hold they did. The ending nevertheless feels abrupt to me. (I understand Phyllis Ann Karr did a third person narrative adaptation of the story. Particularly since she's an author I've liked, I'd love to read that. Sadly it's long out of print.) The Watsons is an abandoned novel of about 17,500 words written in Austen's largely "silent" middle period after Sense and Sensibility and Price and Prejudice but before Mansfield Park and Emma and Persuasion. The protagonist in this novel, Emma Watson, is very likable. Like Fanny Price, she's someone who was raised away from her birth family by a rich relation--except she had expectations of being an heiress, which were disappointed by her rich aunt marrying again, throwing her back to her original family. Her family is respected enough to be able to mix with the best families, including a Lord interested in Emma, and comfortable enough to have a servant, but in the circles they run around in are considered "poor." Only nineteen, Emma has a lot more confidence than Fanny Price, and a lot less snobbishness than her namesake Emma Woodhouse. She won my liking when she goes to the rescue of a ten-year-old boy stood up at a dance. I'm only sorry there wasn't more, and we had to leave Emma soon after a ball parting from her brother and his wife. I'm sure that if Jane Austen had been able to complete this novel, I'd be rating it five or four stars as an equal to Pride and Prejudice or Emma. As it is, this had me running to read Joan Aiken's "continuation" Emma Watson immediately afterwards hungry for more--but was, alas, disappointed. I'm afraid I'll just have to be happy with what Austen left us.Sanditon was left uncompleted by Jane Austen's death, and I loved what I read to pieces, even more than The Watsons, and can only mourn that her death left Sanditon forever incomplete. It had such possibilities! I really liked our heroine Charlotte Heywood, with her obvious intelligence, lack of pretension and good sense. In the eleven chapters of 26,000 or so words we have left to us, Lady Denham and the three Parker hypochondriac siblings strike me as brilliant comic creations. Then there's Sir Edward Denham, who models himself after rakes like Richardson's Lovelace and schemes to seduce, and if not, abduct, Clara, his rival for Lady Denham's inheritance. Then there's Miss Lambe, "a young West Indian of large fortune," who is "about seventeen, half mulatto, and chilly and tender." What an interesting character to find in an Austen novel! I certainly will be trying at least one of the completions by other hands, although I expect I'll sadly be disappointed. In terms of what's on the page I'd rate this five stars to be honest. It gets only three because I can't imagine anyone but us hardcore Austen fanatics or scholars wanting to read an incomplete novel.

[anniemod · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

The book contains three different works, collected together because of their size. But they belong to different parts of Austen's life. Note: Don't read the introductions for each of the parts unless if you had read the novel before -- they are a good introduction if you do not mind being told what you are about to read... and I prefer to hear about that from Austen and not through the retelling of an editor. Lady Susan is the only finished piece here - it is a short novel about a wicked oldish woman which seems to believe that the world revolves around her. This is the only epistolary novel that she left (Sense and Sensibility had been initially started in the same way but then edited) and the clever conversations which are the trademark of Jane Austen are mostly missing - the format does not suit them well. But it does not make the novel a bad one - it has a somewhat abrupt ending, almost as if Austen got tired of writing it and wanted to wrap it up but it is an enjoyable little story. And even if there is almost no fully fleshed character besides Lady Susan, the few secondary ones are the likable ones and the ones that bring the whole story to life. What seems almost impossible happens here - the book delves into hard topics (adultery, forces marriages and so on) and remains an amusing piece of prose - not as polished as the 6 main novels but a little gem that could have published to brilliancy (and gifted with a better ending - even if it essentially remains the same, the way it is done is ruining the whole impression from the novel). The Watsons is a lot more traditional... and unfortunately unfinished. Siblings rivalry, unmarried sisters, a sibling growing up away in a better environment and returning, poverty, the main character catching the eye of a rich man and at the same time liking someone that is not that rich - if all that sounds familiar then don't think you've read the wrong book. While I was reading "The Watsons" I could almost see where some of those ideas were used in her later novels - Emma, Mansfield Park and Persuasion -- it is almost as if Austen used The Watsons as a draft and decided that all these elements in the same novel are too much and split them between the other books. But the piece that she wrote is vibrant and alive -- there are enough characters' actions to start liking some of them (and hating some of them). I wish she had finished the book - because even though we know how it was supposed to finish (from a letter Jane Austen wrote to her sister), the ending of a novel had never been what is the most important in her books - almost everyone can guess how all will end and almost anyone reading her books these days know how they end -- but that does not make them less readable. It is all about the way the end is reached.Sanditon is the last work she started, shortly before her death. And in its 12 chapters it is shaping up as a novel quite different from any of the previous 6 (or 7 if we count Lady Susan). It still has the maids that need to be married, it still has the title-owing man, the rich old lady and the small village that is so familiar from Austen's works. But it also have very eccentric family (Mr. Parker and all his siblings) and the village as a place being part of the novel - something that rarely happened in the early novels (in most places it is there to indicate the small dimensions but here it sounds like it will be one of the main characters of the story). And just like that, it ends. Noone knows how it would have ended, noone knows what Austen planned to do with it in the future. It remains as a beginning that could have led to the next great novel (or could have been abandoned as The Watsons). But even these initial 12 chapters are enjoyable - the Parker siblings are so comical that I could not resist laughing in a few occasions. I am aware that there are a few authors that finished that novel... and I am not sure that I want to check what they decided the intention had been. The novel is in such early stages that I am not convinced that we had met all of the main players yet (even if it is even longer than The Watsons, it feels a lot less finished and framed, it feels like a canvass in progress where the main elements are not yet fully there. On a whole reading this collection was an enjoyable experience. Austen's voice is clear and detectable in all of the stories and it is a good thing that these are made available - especially the unfinished pieces. But I doubt that someone that does not like her novels will like these stories.

[caslater83 · Valutazione: 1 su 5 stelle]

I love Jane Austen's more complete novels. (Ex. Mansfield Park.) It's "fleshed out" better. These three stories are so short that I feel that there is no meat to it for me. I need a good plot and good dialogue. This book of three-novellas-in-one just disappoints me to no end. To me, this is not the Jane Austen I know.

[sueincyprus · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Three works in one, unpublished in Jane Austen's lifetime, and unfinished. Cleverly written with good characters; fascinating from social history point of view, but disappointing that they were not completed.

[librarycin · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

This compilation includes three unfinished works by Austen. I read Lady Susan earlier this year on audio, so I skipped it here. The Watsons was abandoned by Austen and she was in the middle of writing Sanditon when she died. In The Watsons, Emma has been living with her aunt for a number of years, then returns home. Her sister, Elizabeth, describes various people whom Emma is likely to see at her first ball now that she's home. I think I would have liked this one had she finished it. Sanditon is a place along the sea where it seems people with health issues are gathering. I just couldn't get into this one, so I pretty much skimmed through it. Averaging out the two, I'm giving it 3 stars (ok).

[ncgraham_1 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Like most readers, I came to these stories already in love with Jane Austen.I had probably seen them a hundred times in Barnes & Noble, separate or together, in various orders, with or without Northanger Abbey. And every time I passed them by, sometimes pausing to read the back cover, but never really getting a clear idea of what they were about or why I should read them. I daresay other Austen fans have done the same, and have always ended up returning to an old favorite, like Emma or Pride and Prejudice.Lady Susan is the only complete work of the lot and is, in my opinion at least, the most satisfying of them as well. It is a short epistolary novel that takes as its heroine (a dubious term in this instance) Lady Susan Vernon, a manipulative, flirtatious, and altogether shameless widow. Having wreaked chaos in the Manwaring household, she now seeks solace in the home of her brother-in-law. There she makes an enemy of his wife, flirts with their nephew Reginald, and continues to tyrannize her own daughter, Georgiana. Though the epistolary style at first seems to add yet another layer of reserve to Austen’s world, in the end it showcases her talent for the creation and individuation of a wide-ranging cast of characters; one particularly impressive letter features the Sir Reginald deCourcy’s advice to his son on love and marriage. Lady Susan herself is a fascinating character, so very evil and cunning that some of my classmates who were reading this at the same time as I thought her a bit of a cliché, but her very vibrancy overcomes whatever flaws may exist in the portrayal of her character. It fascinates me that, as a mere girl of twenty, Austen chose to write about a worldly thirty-five-year-old widow, while her more mature works tend to focus more upon young women who have only lately reached adulthood.Of the two fragments, The Watsons is probably the weaker, and for a while I thought I would not like it at all. It opens with a great deal of exposition, for its heroine, Emma Watson, has been away living with wealthy relatives for many years, and has only recently returned to the home of her father and sisters. Gradually, however, I warmed to the story, mostly due to the charms of its heroine. Though she may be too perfect for the tastes of many modern readers, Emma strikes me as a sort of ideal balance between Austen’s quieter heroines (Fanny Price, Anne Eliot) and her spunky, outspoken leading ladies (Elizabeth Bennett, Emma Woodhouse, Marianne Dashwood); she seems to know when to speak and when to be silent, and does neither out of turn. Moreover, she shows the kind of moral fiber one expects from an Austen heroine, with her actions towards young Charles at the ball emerging as truly laudatory.Sanditon is in many ways the opposite of the preceding piece. Although its heroine Charlotte has some very fine qualities, she is much less the focus of this fragment than Emma Watson was of hers; in fact, she serves mostly as an eyepiece by which the reader may look into the whimsical, ever-changing, hypocritical world of the seaside resort town. Though it delves into some weighty themes—hypochondria, the changing times, even planned seductions—they are all handled in a very ironic manner. It is at once a brighter and crueler view of the times than the down-to-earth, slightly sensational view afforded us by The Watsons. For me, the one really beautiful passage in this work occurs when Charlotte is driving up to Sanditon with Mr. and Mrs. Parker. They pass the Parker’s old abode on their way to the new, and Mr. Parker rattles on and on about the benefits of a contemporary, elegant, gardenless seaside home (‘Who can endure a cabbage patch in October?’). But Mrs. Parker interjects modestly that, despite such improvements, one still ‘loves to look at an old friend, at a place where one has been happy.’ Of the supporting characters, I have a particular and somewhat twisted liking for Sir Edward, who has read Richardson’s Clarissa one too many times and identifies a little too closely with Lovelace, the antihero. As a result, his object in life is to become a villain and seduce country women—!The main issue with both The Watsons and Sanditon is that they are fragments, and as such can never feel completely satisfying. This is especially so with Sanditon, which Austen left without any hints as to its ending. Even Lady Susan might have benefited from a little more development in one or two areas.These three works are none of them masterpieces, but I would certainly recommend them to anyone who loves Jane Austen as much as I do.

[lucyb7 · Valutazione: 5 su 5 stelle]

Sandition, by Jane AustenAnother delightful short read by Austen. I can’t say enough about how much I revel in these brief , yet brilliant works. Sandition brought me the light read and humour I desperately needed after the meatier books I last dove into.Sandition, is the name of a new beach resort village in its coming of age. Because it is a relatively unknown area in need of new residents, travelers and reputable people-the then local entrepreneur, Tom Parker, starts up the story on a tour in search of a physician for his new community. Along the way (and due to a small injury) he must stop for help in a town – and lucky for him, the people are very welcoming and readily available for help. Mr. Parker and his wife, appreciating the warmth and kindness of these accidental hosts, as a gesture of appreciation, offer to take the daughter of Mr. Heywood (the main man who helped and hosted them) a Miss Charlotte Heywood, back with them as a guest in their home in Sandition.Charlotte is the heroine of this story and everything is pretty much seen through her eyes. In Sandition we meet such colourful characters as the very rich, elderly and twice-widowed, Lady Denham; her niece and nephew by her second husband, her cousin Clara- a beautiful and demure young lady. But- the funniest of all characters are Mr. Parker’s siblings who have endless ailments (all of them purel y made up). One of these, Diane (Parker’s sister) is on a mission to ‘fill up’ the town and in doing so, she is constantly busy and bustling around , leaving Charlotte to wonder if the illness isn’t but an act.Sadly (for me), the story ends abruptly with the arrival into Sandition, of the dashing Mr. Sidney, Parker’s brother . I say sadly because I was just getting into it- just when the characters started coming together for the meshing of a story line…Sandition has got me wondering how this one could have turned out. The characters are delightful and true to Austen’s originality and good sense of build up to a story that would surely have become another of her great masterpieces. It also saddens me to think that it was during this very year of writing Sandition that Jane Austen passed away.

[jaimjane · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

If you think Jane Austen only wrote about dances, parties, and happy endings, you need to read Lady Susan. She not only openly discusses adultery but even more taboo subjects such as the fact Lady Susan hates her daughter, slanders the poor girl to everyone she knows, and tries to marry her off to her own lover that she stole from another girl. It was sad that the Watsons and Sanditon were never published. Jane died too young.

[sagustocox · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

The Watsons by Jane Austen is an unfinished novel, but encompasses many elements from her finished novels, such as Emma and Sense & Sensibility. Elizabeth and Emma Watson hail from a poorer family than the Osborne or the Edwards families. Emma had been living with an aunt for many years, only to return home to a sickly father and a devoted sister, Elizabeth, who has not married despite her advanced age to care for their father. The story begins with Elizabeth escorting herself to the Edwards’ home before the ball. “‘I am sorry for her anxieties,’ said Emma, ‘ — but I do not like her plans or her opinions. I shall be afraid of her. — She must have too masculine and a bold temper. — To be so bent on marriage — to pursue a man merely for the sake of situation — is a sort of thing that shocks me; I cannot understand it. . . . ‘” (page 110)Again we see Jane Austen’s insistence that marriage for wealth or improved situation are appalling, yet often done in society. Emma is a bit more outspoken than Elizabeth Bennet, while Elizabeth has a sense of duty to the family, much like Elinore in Sense & Sensibility. The sickly father is reminiscent of the father in Emma. In may ways, The Watsons seems to be a starting point for many of Austen’s novels or at least an earlier work that inspired her to keep writing.

[aharey · Valutazione: 3 su 5 stelle]

This book included the short novel Lady Watson and the unfinished Sanditon and The Watsons. Although I am a serious Janeite, these would be at the bottom of my favorites list. It is easy to see how all three COULD have been much better- there is a reason Jane did not publish them in her lifetime- they weren't the polished masterpieces her other six novels are. It is interesting to speculate on how these stories would've turned out if she had edited them and published them.

[matke-261098 · Valutazione: 4 su 5 stelle]

Lady Susan, The Watson’s, Sanditon is an omnibus volume of Jane Austen’s earlier works. She is much more cutting here than in her later, better-known volumes. Lady Susan is a complete beast of a woman: conniving, manipulative, and thoroughly selfish. She attempts to marry her daughter to a much older man, completely against the girl’s will, and tries to match herself up with a true catch. This being Austen, all does end well; the rather mean delight is in seeing Lady Susan fail.The Watsons is the weakest of the three stories here. Emma Watson has to return to her father’s home after living with a wealthy aunt. The story is unfinished, so we can appreciate Emma’s chagrin at the behavior of her siblings, but that’s all.Sanditon is full of delicious characters. Lady Denham, in particular, stands out as an unbelievably vain woman who has to be the most important person at all times. The thin plot involves the development of a seaside resort. Although Austen didn’t live to finish the book, it’s clear that this would have been a lighthearted look at the foibles of those attempting to be just a bit more significant than they really are.Edit