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68th out of 219 books
—
454 voters
Lady Vernon and Her Daughter: A Novel of Jane Austen's Lady Susan
by
Jane Rubino,
Caitlen Rubino-Bradway (Goodreads Author)
Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan was written during the same period as another novella called Elinor and Marianne–which was later revised and expanded to become Sense and Sensibility. Unfortunately for readers, Lady Susan did not enjoy the same treatment by its author and was left abandoned and forgotten by all but the most diligent Austen scholars. Until now.
In Lady Verno...more
In Lady Verno...more
Hardcover, 336 pages
Published
October 6th 2009
by Crown
(first published October 5th 2009)
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I am honestly surprised how much I enjoyed this book. I usually stay off the spin-offs/continuations of classic books, but I think one of the things that made this book good was that it wasn't a spin-off/continuation of a major work. Lady Vernon and Her Daughter expands the story of Jane Austen's Lady Susan.
In Lady Susan we see her as a selfish, conniving widow. In Lady Vernon and Her Daughter we see that might not be the case. It goes to show how gossip and biasness plays into people's opinion...more
In Lady Susan we see her as a selfish, conniving widow. In Lady Vernon and Her Daughter we see that might not be the case. It goes to show how gossip and biasness plays into people's opinion...more
love Jane Austen, so I appreciate this expansion of Austen's work by Ms Rubino and Ms Rubino-Bradway. I am a bit of a purist, but I found Lady Vernon and Her Daughter to be an enjoyable read. However, for those who are looking for true Austen: this novel felt more like the Forsyte Saga then Jane Austen.
When I read an Austen novel, I find I always love the protagonists for their goodness, charm, and wit, and I root for them to triumph against all the difficulties they face. You can feel the ache...more
When I read an Austen novel, I find I always love the protagonists for their goodness, charm, and wit, and I root for them to triumph against all the difficulties they face. You can feel the ache...more
Lady Susan est une oeuvre à part de Jane Austen par bien des manières, mais la plus évidente réside dans le charactère de l'héroïne: une femme calculatrice, égoïste et dépourvue d'amour maternel! Quel chamboulement dans le petit monde austenien! Pourtant, ou plutôt grâce à cela, c'est un livre qui est généralement très apprécié et combien de Janéites n'ont-elles pas regretté que tel Raison et Sentiments, Jane n'est pas retravaillé Lady Susan plus tard sous forme de roman! C'est ce que les dames...more
It wasn't horrible. And I'm certainly glad that (unlike many Austen re-imaginings) it stayed out of the bedrooms of the main characters. I wanted to like it because I had enjoyed Jane Rubino's short story "What Would Austen Do" in Jane Austen Made Me Do It.
But this novel turns nearly everything in the original Austen epistolary novella on it's head and completely changes the personalities of the main characters. While it leaves in *some* of the letters from the original work, it complete *remov...more
But this novel turns nearly everything in the original Austen epistolary novella on it's head and completely changes the personalities of the main characters. While it leaves in *some* of the letters from the original work, it complete *remov...more
This is a delightful adaptation of a short, unfinished novel by Jane Austen that I has the shame of never being able to finish.
Generally speaking, I have trouble with epistolary novels; I am a great believer in "show don't tell" and books that are just a series of letters are all tell and no show whatsoever. A few exceptions to this rule are letters of a personally relevent nature like the set of letters written by my great grandmother I was suprised and honored to recieve, or the Griffin and Sa...more
Generally speaking, I have trouble with epistolary novels; I am a great believer in "show don't tell" and books that are just a series of letters are all tell and no show whatsoever. A few exceptions to this rule are letters of a personally relevent nature like the set of letters written by my great grandmother I was suprised and honored to recieve, or the Griffin and Sa...more
The fact that I am an Austenite, while not “a truth universally acknowledged,” is certainly known in certain circles of society, albeit friends, family, and coworkers. And yet, despite taking an entire class devoted to Austen, I was not familiar with her epistolary novella Lady Susan. The original Lady Susan was written during the same period in which Austen produced Elinor and Marianne. Like Lady Susan it focused on the economic and romantic plights of two heroines displaced when the family hom...more
I am obliged to admit that I was thoroughly entertained by Lady Vernon and Her Daughter. There are some who might say that to rework a novella of letters by such an esteemed author far too an ambitious undertaking. And yet there are some who are so bewitched with the Austenesque style that to have too long a period go by without some sort of Austen inspired release to be too cruel a fortune to bear. Lady Vernon and Her Daughter boasts wit and pleasant diversion, and gives Austen's admires someth...more
I enjoyed this a lot more than I expected. The authors did a very nice job turning Lady Susan into a novel, taking the main plot and characters and fleshing them out. Sir James was my favorite character. I have not liked a Jane Austen spin-off/continuation so much since I read Sanditon by Another Lady and Amanda Grange's Captain Wentworth's Diary.
A entertaining, humorous read, I recommend this for all Austen fans.
A entertaining, humorous read, I recommend this for all Austen fans.
Audiobook. A Jane Austen spin off that actually sounds like Jane Auten. This novel uses snippets from Austen's unfinished novella "Lady Susan" to create a novel of courtship as only Jane can. But instead of making Lady Vernon the true coquette of Austen's work, Lady Vernon is a gentle woman whose character is much maigned by the rumor mill. Left destitute when her husband dies and his profligate younger brother takes over the estate with no thought of her or her daughter, Lady Vernon schemes to...more
This was a fun little read, easily devoured in a matter of days. The subject matter and style were decidedly Austen-esque, and as such, cannot help but strike this 21st-century reader as more than slightly contrived and of very little consequence. It is a reminder, however, of how different the lives of women - and men - "of fashion" were in those days. Austen's settings encompass the daily doings of the idle rich during the Regency period in England, and Rubino's novel dutifully follows suit.
T...more
T...more
Not for me.
As a novel, without reference to JA, I think it's pretty well-written and even somewhat entertaining, so I give it 2 stars for that. (Although it sometimes felt it was taking forever to get through.)
But I did not like this as an adaptation of "Lady Susan". They tried to make the "mean girl" into a victim of malicious gossip, which I couldn't buy, being very familiar with the original. They pretty much ignored Lady Susan's letter to Mrs. Johnson, and reinterpreted her. In doing so, the...more
As a novel, without reference to JA, I think it's pretty well-written and even somewhat entertaining, so I give it 2 stars for that. (Although it sometimes felt it was taking forever to get through.)
But I did not like this as an adaptation of "Lady Susan". They tried to make the "mean girl" into a victim of malicious gossip, which I couldn't buy, being very familiar with the original. They pretty much ignored Lady Susan's letter to Mrs. Johnson, and reinterpreted her. In doing so, the...more
One of the most appealing things about this book is that it portrays the power of the written word. A good portion of it is dedicated to letters sent back and forth between characters — an Austenian take on social networking before the advent of Twitter, Facebook, texting, cell phones, and e-mail.
The novel follows the adventures of Lady Vernon and her daughter, Frederica, after the death of Sir Frederick, which leaves them financially dependent on his spendthrift brother, Charles Vernon. The res...more
The novel follows the adventures of Lady Vernon and her daughter, Frederica, after the death of Sir Frederick, which leaves them financially dependent on his spendthrift brother, Charles Vernon. The res...more
It’s amazing the way people can have different eye-witness accounts of the same experience. This book clearly works off of that and through the repercussions. Gossip and speculations were flying around like crazy. It’s amazing how much time and energy went into maintaining them.
Lady Vernon was portrayed as a little too perfect IMO, who seemed to always be the victim or misunderstood, but at the same time she was encouraging some of these rumors. Considering they involved her and her daughter it...more
Lady Vernon was portrayed as a little too perfect IMO, who seemed to always be the victim or misunderstood, but at the same time she was encouraging some of these rumors. Considering they involved her and her daughter it...more
Delightful! A Jane Austen plot with a modern voice. The book contains more letters than in J.A.'s original works, but it was interesting to read the point of view from all the characters, which we must otherwise infer if we bother to analyze the other characters at all. I was concerned that I wouldn't like an author tampering with and taking liberties with JA's works, but because this one was unfinished, the book only enhanced the originals. My only criticism is that some characters become too o...more
I wanted to like this book. I really tried to like this book.
But in 4 chapters, we went through 4 generations before finally coming to what I thought might be the main characters. I didn't know who to like. I couldn't latch onto a character to identify with them.
There was also a lot of telling and a lot of empty information. This was supposed to be a story in the style of Jane Austen, but it didn't have any of the endearing qualities Jane Austen put into her writing and into the personalities of...more
But in 4 chapters, we went through 4 generations before finally coming to what I thought might be the main characters. I didn't know who to like. I couldn't latch onto a character to identify with them.
There was also a lot of telling and a lot of empty information. This was supposed to be a story in the style of Jane Austen, but it didn't have any of the endearing qualities Jane Austen put into her writing and into the personalities of...more
I was a little skeptical when I signed up for the contest to win Lady Vernon and Her Daughter as I had not read any of Jane Austen's original works. Sure I know the stories from watching all the BBC and Masterpiece shows. And believe me, I have watched them all, at least 3 different Pride and Prejudice. I am not sure why I have never read any of Austens works. I think that it just looked to hard to read. So with all that in my head. I was delighted and a bit apprehensive to win Lady Vernon and H...more
I was very lucky to win this book. I absolutely loved it! It is very well written. To me, it combined a few of the Jane Austen stories into one. I enjoyed Lady Vernon's character. Although, I didn't like her in Lady Susan, I did here. I loved how she was able to be confident and happy even when her circumstances certainly weren't. She was admirable. I also enjoyed her daughter. I have a daughter that I am incredibly close to and I could appreciate the connection they had together. I would encour...more
Nov 10, 2010
Miss Beverly
is currently reading it
(note: I am reading the audio version of this novel)
The first part of the book explains the families and their relationships before we've been introduced to them as personalities and people, naming them in a sort of family tree. I always find these difficult in an audio book, because I need something to identify a character other than a name and it's impossible to flip back to that chapter as easily as one can in a printed novel. Once we begin the story, however, these names flesh out beautiful...more
The first part of the book explains the families and their relationships before we've been introduced to them as personalities and people, naming them in a sort of family tree. I always find these difficult in an audio book, because I need something to identify a character other than a name and it's impossible to flip back to that chapter as easily as one can in a printed novel. Once we begin the story, however, these names flesh out beautiful...more
This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it,
click here.
(Note: This review is coming from the perspective of someone who has not yet had the pleasure of reading “Lady Susan.”)
“Lady Susan” and “Sense and Sensibility” are alike in that they were both originally epistolary novels. However, the difference is that “Sense and Sensibility,” was later revised and redrafted by Jane Austen and “Lady Susan” was not. Why Jane Austen never returned to “Lady Susan” is not known: Did she consider “Lady Susan” as part of her Juvenilia? Did she have more pressing pr...more
“Lady Susan” and “Sense and Sensibility” are alike in that they were both originally epistolary novels. However, the difference is that “Sense and Sensibility,” was later revised and redrafted by Jane Austen and “Lady Susan” was not. Why Jane Austen never returned to “Lady Susan” is not known: Did she consider “Lady Susan” as part of her Juvenilia? Did she have more pressing pr...more
I was pleasantly surprised by this novel, and agree with my mother who said 'It ought to be made into a movie'. The language and history seems authentic and very Austenian in its style. The characters are complexly connected, and perhaps the plot is slightly too intricate for that time period, but it makes for a charming story with just a touch of mystery. The romance is sweetly funny, and while it ends perfectly as only a fairy-tale can, you close the book in great satisfaction.
I really need to learn my lesson and stop reading Austen-inspired books and sequels, because they never do the original justice. In this case, the present day authors rework Jane's Lady Susan (a novella written in Austen's early days, still using the letter format) which, to be fair, was never novelized by Austen herself and so isn't all that much to go on.
But I found the characters uninspiring, the plot unromantic, and I couldn't wait to get to the next book on my list.
But I found the characters uninspiring, the plot unromantic, and I couldn't wait to get to the next book on my list.
This really was a wonderful reimagining of Lady Susan. The style mimics Austen's without being obsequious, and the tone captures the edge of her wit very well. Lady Vernon and Frederica aren't quite as rounded as Austen's heroines but they are certainly far more fully realized than the epistolary originals. The authors managed some excellent comic creations and Sir James is delightful. Probably some of the best Austen paraliterature that I've read. Which, let's be honest, is saying something.
I knew Austen had written a novella called "Lady Susan" but hadn't ever read it since it was incomplete and very close to sense and sensibility. These authors did a great job "filling in" a story for it. They kept the style very close to Austen's and made it believable. I wouldn't call it a fast-paced or suprising book, but a fun read for Austen fans. A bit more narrative than a I was in the mood for this week (another very Austen trait.)
Loved this book. It is an expansion of Jane Austen's novella "Lady Susan". I read Lady Susan and wasn't all that impressed with it (it was one of the first things Jane Austen wrote and then never expanded it into a novel like she did with Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice--both of which started as novellas). This book was a delight to read. It was witty and thoughtful, and a nice reflection of Jane Austen's style.
Never sure how I'll react to Jane Austen fan-fiction so usually pick them up with some trepidation. Did enjoy this tale (just don't read the excerpts of Austen's Lady Susan at the end of the book--will put you off the heroine) and easily read it in an afternoon. The authors are obviously well-versed in Austen novels as many of the phrases and attitudes were from original characters—that was fun for me to try to figure out.
I don't think that this book is as enjoyable if you haven't read Jane Austin's Lady Susan (which I hadn't). Had I read that I would have understood that this author has written with a new spin on an ambiguous Austen character (both hero and villainess). Reading it cold, just sort of left me cold. I didn't really like anyone... On the other hand, had I liked Lady Susan, in the original, I probably wouldn't have appreciated how she is whitewashed in this version. So, alas, I guess I am done with L...more
This book, inspired by and using parts of an unfinished Jane Austen novel called Lady Susan, comes pretty close to achieving the Austen tone, style and wit in plot and dialogue, so it was fun for me to read. However, it also makes me miss the real thing because no one can achieve the rich complexity and intelligence of Jane Austen’s writing about relationships and family life in her time.
It took several chapters to get into Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, but it really was delightful. I've never read so close--or enjoyable-- an imitation of Austen before. As a fan of Lady Susan, it was a bit jarring at first to think of her as a heroine, but the authors did a fantastic job of creating a believable back-story/explanation with this novel.
Lovely!
Lovely!
This book is from a partially done novel by Jane Austen called Lady Susan. The authors did a great job matching language and characters, even if I did catch a few items that would not have been intended in the orginal. If you are an Austen fan, don't miss this one since it does reflect the subtlety and wit of the real Jane Austen. Enjoyable read.
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jane Austen Sequels: Lady Vernon and her Daughter, by Jane Rubino & Caitlen Rubino Bradway | 1 | 5 | Oct 26, 2012 10:01pm | |
| Jane Austen Sequels: * Favorite Lady Susan Inspired Bks | 3 | 44 | Feb 22, 2012 01:36pm | |
| A thank you from the authors | 1 | 3 | Dec 03, 2009 05:59am |
Jane Rubino is a graduate of New York University with a BA in Dramatic Literature, Theatre History, and Cinema. She has been a stringer, feature writer, and film columnist and is author of a contemporary mystery series set at the New Jersey shore and featuring entertainment reporter Cat Fortunati Austen and Sherlock Holmes-quoting cop Lt. Victor Cardenas. Jane and her husband live in New Jersey, '...more
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Feb 23, 2012 11:45am