Lady Susan

Credits and rights

Original writer

Jane Austen (written c

Publisher of this edition

BoingyBooks Classics

Original publisher

Project Gutenberg

Adaptation credits

John Shoufler / BoingyBooks Classics — digital edition

Original source / edition

Lady Susan

License

Public Domain

License link

https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

Rights and adaptation notice

This work is in the public domain. John Shoufler published this digital edition through BoingyBooks Classics. The original work remains public domain and may be copied, adapted, and shared.

Lady Susan by Jane Austen (written c. 1794, published 1871)

An epistolary novella featuring Austen's most deliciously wicked character: Lady Susan Vernon, a beautiful, manipulative widow who schemes to secure wealthy husbands for herself and her reluctant daughter. Austen's darkest and funniest creation.

Historical Significance:
Written when Austen was about 18 or 19, Lady Susan was not published until 1871, over 50 years after her death. The novella is told entirely through letters, a format Austen would abandon for her later novels. Lady Susan is unlike any other Austen heroine — she is an anti-heroine, a charming villain who uses her intelligence and beauty to manipulate everyone around her. Some scholars see her as a prototype for Mary Crawford in Mansfield Park. Whit Stillman's 2016 film adaptation, Love & Friendship, was a critical and commercial hit that introduced Lady Susan to a new audience.

This public domain classic was originally written c. 1794 and published posthumously in 1871. Free to read and share.