Sign in with Facebook
Loading...
Jane Austen's Charlotte: Her Fragment of a Last Novel, Completed by Julia Barrett
The unfinished last novel of Jane Austen is completed by Julia Barrett, author of Austen continuations "The Third Sister" and "Presumption."
Hardcover
Published
March 14th 2000
by M. Evans and Company
Friend Reviews
To see what your friends thought of this book,
please sign up.
This book is not yet featured on Listopia.
Add this book to your favorite list »
Community Reviews
(showing
1-30
of
171)
We’ll call this a half-review because I couldn’t finish the book. It had potential as a completion of Jane Austen’s last unfinished project, usually referred to as Sanditon. I’m in for pretty much anything related to Austen, though that’s no surprise to anyone who knows about my reading habits.
I’d read one completion before and really liked it, so I was hoping this one would also be good. Alas, it wasn’t. I wanted more of Charlotte, especially with her being the title character, and thought ther...more
I’d read one completion before and really liked it, so I was hoping this one would also be good. Alas, it wasn’t. I wanted more of Charlotte, especially with her being the title character, and thought ther...more
Dec 24, 2009
Sharon
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
austen,
historical-fiction
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
I found this to be almost unreadable. She may have pegged the characters of Diana Parker and Sir Edward completely, but their characters are such caricatures it's very hard to enjoy a book that relies on them as its central driving force. And I wonder how she can justify completely ignoring Mrs. Griffiths, Miss Lambe, and the Miss Beauforts. To me it's obvious that Austen introduced them in Chapter 11 to create a complication and push the narrative along--and Miss Lambe at least offers a hope of...more
Aug 14, 2012
benebean
rated it
2 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
female-protagonist,
historical-fiction
I can't help but feel when Julia Barret took over the writing, I was no longer reading the story, but rather an essay about the story. I also got the sense that the narrative turned into an indulgent patting self on the back for having found some austen-esque diction... almost as if the author thought to herself, look at how much slightly archaic victorian language I can weave together-- and as other said, it seems to be telling about the story rather than telling the story.
I used to own this novel. it was given to me by a friend. I tried to finish it but it was soo boring. I know this work was left incomplete so I can only assume that Austen would have made the book better had it been finished. What Barrett seemed to do with the novel was not to my liking.
I hate to say it (because I love Jane Austen's books), but this was a very dull and boring version of Sandition. It had basically no plot, I didn't understand the crisis (horse racing) and I didn't know the main character was proposed to (or even liked the guy she met all of twice), until the absolute ending. I'm going to read another author's idea of Sandition.
I came across two books in the library that completed Austen's fragment of a novel, so borrowed them both in order to compare them. I could tell the moment Austen left off - the book lost the readability of Austen's style and became bogged down in detail.
Bit disappointed here...not sure where Austen left off and Barrett stepped in, but regardless, the book never hooked me. Stylistically satisfying, but storyline is flattish and characters don't "live".
This book is pretty good. It's not quite the same as the ones Jane Austen finished by herself, though. And the ending seems too "tidy" and "quick." I expected a longer ending.
I love Jane Austen, but this was very slow going since someone else finished it. I had to just skip to the end as I could not take it any more.
Enjoyed this romance novel by Austen, wish she had been able to finish it before she went to heaven. Can't wait to meet her there.
Why, why, why, did I think it would be a good idea to read this book? Julia Barrett's completion of Jane Austen's last novel isn't worthy to be in the same library as something written by Jane, much less the same book. Barrett attempts to mimic Austen's sentence structure, and fails. She lacks Austen's wit and ability to hint and imply rather than state. The plot is unlike Austen's other works, which makes it unbelievable as a continuation, and the last 30 or so pages seem tacked on with little...more
Don't bother with this rotten attempt to finish an Austen fragment. It's poorly written; the sentence structure doesn't make sense (not just long and complex, but nonsensically so); the characters are not developed; and the point-of-view jumps around in disconcerting and unpredictable ways. Austen's work is profoundly character-driven; this book is not. So if you want Austen, read Austen's completed works, and if you want something really good in the mood of Austen, read Barrett's Presumption>...more
I shouldn't have to read sentences 2 and 3 times to understand what the author is trying to say unless I am reading a pedantic textbook.
view 1 comment
An okay interpretation of Jane Austen's last writing. Not one of Julia Barrett's best.
If I could give this negative stars, I would. I had this whole long review (scathing) that I typed up, in which I suggested that the only thing this book is good for is hitting Barrett in the head and putting the world out of its misery, but when I hit post, the page wouldn't load, and I lost it.
The world may have been trying to tell me something there, but I stand by what I said, and when I have calmed down a bit, I will repost and let you know all about this piece of ill-conceived, incredibly...more
The world may have been trying to tell me something there, but I stand by what I said, and when I have calmed down a bit, I will repost and let you know all about this piece of ill-conceived, incredibly...more
Awful. Terrible. Just ... Awful. Why can't we give negative stars?
She's no Jane Austen!
Bored me to tears. I tried on 3 different occasions to get through the book, to no avail. I finally decided that since it is a fragment of Austen's last novel, I should give it a chance. I finally stopped half way through. If Charlotte is supposed to be the main character then something went awry. Her love interest doesn't even appear until page 70 or so (I had to flip to the back to see who it was), and the characters with the most description are pithy and unlikable.
Finally I figured out which completion of Austen's "Sanditon" that I read and hated! It was one of the worst Austen completion/spin-offs that could exist. You could tell from the very sentence where Austen ended and Barrett began. I have not liked what I've read of Barrett. And she disobeyed all of my rules for a good Austen spin-off. But, since there are so few of those any way, it is no surprise that I hated this one, too.
"Exquisitely written and read. Ward's understated narration surrounds readers with elegant prose that depicts intrigue and the interrelationships among the quirky characters of Sanditon." � Booklist
Listen to Jane Austen�s Charlotte on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
Listen to Jane Austen�s Charlotte on your iPhone, desktop, or smartphone.
This one was a little tiresome. I really felt like not much was happening the entire time. The last few chapters finally started to get interesting, then the story was over. It also seemed much the same as her (Julia Barrett's) other books. They always follow a certain pattern, so they are starting to seem unoriginal.
I really enjoyed Barrett's Third Sister and Presumption, so I was disappointed that I did not enjoy this one. Barrett's portion focused too much on Sir Edward and not enough on Charlotte and Sidney. Also, the ending was a little abrupt.
I have like Barrets other Austen attempts, but This one was not to be mistaken for Sanditon. I do not think she concluded it well, but I did still enjoy her possibilities and would read it again without feeling I have wasted time.
Aug 10, 2012
Quirkyreader
added it
This book was nothing to write home about.
So I give it no stars.
I'm sticking with adaptations by Amanda Grange and the Aiken sisters.
So I give it no stars.
I'm sticking with adaptations by Amanda Grange and the Aiken sisters.
I read the first 5 chapters and couldn't get into it.
I gave up on this book. I just didn't find the characters or story line terribly engaging and I am a huge Jane Austin fan. I guess there is a reason she left this work unfinished.
This book delivered the Jane Austin feeling. The dialog was charming if the plot was somewhat mystifying "why do all these people care about such a thing?" kept going through my mind.
There are no discussion topics on this book yet.
Be the first to start one »
