Lady Vernon and Her Daughter

by Jane Rubino, Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

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 Vernon and Her Daughter, Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway have taken Austen's original novella and transformed it into a vivid and richly developed novel of love lost and found—and the complex relationships between women, men, and money in Regency England.

Lady Vernon and her daughter, Frederica, are left penniless and without a home after the death of Sir Frederick Vernon, Susan's husband. Frederick's brother and heir, Charles Vernon, like so many others of his time, has forgotten his promises to look after the women, and despite their fervent hopes to the contrary, does nothing to financially support Lady Vernon and Frederica.

When the ladies, left without another option, bravely arrive at Charles's home to confront him about his treatment of his family, they are faced with Charles's indifference, his wife Catherine's distrustful animosity, and a flood of rumors that threaten to undo them all. Will Lady Vernon and Frederica find love and happiness—and financial security—or will their hopes be dashed with their lost fortune?

With wit and warmth reminiscent of Austen's greatest works, Lady Vernon and Her Daughter brings to vivid life a time and place where a woman's security is at the mercy of an entail, where love is hindered by misunderstanding, where marriage can never be entirely isolated from money, yet where romance somehow carries the day.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Romance, Historical, Regency, Audiobook, Retellings

336 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2009

About the author

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, 'down the shore'. She is a mother of three, a fan of silent and classic films, and a serious reader of Jane Austen and the Sherlock Holmes canon.

Reviews

[Meredith (Austenesque Reviews) · Rating 4 out of 5]

(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 projects needing her attention? Or did she feel that it was too deficient or immature a work? Whatever the reason, Austen never returned to “Lady Susan” either to revise it or to publish it. Furthermore, until now, this work has been left untouched by many and Austen Inspired authors.

It is always a pleasure to come across an author who admires and adores Jane Austen's work enough to devote their time, talent, and energy in an attempt to provide us Austenites with something new to savor and enjoy. And what a delight to have such an obscure and neglected work like “Lady Susan” focused upon! Mother-Daughter team Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway have accomplished the wonderful feat of reworking “Lady Susan” into a well-developed and captivating “Lady Vernon and Her Daughter.” Their writing portrays their fondness and respect towards Jane Austen, and displays their precise and astute knowledge of the Regency Time Period.

What I enjoyed most about this novel was the interesting cast of characters that was represented. Lady Susan Vernon, our protagonist is youthful, beautiful, charming, and in possession of a loving husband and an intelligent sixteen year old daughter. However, Sir Frederick passes away, and Lady Vernon not only loses her loving husband, but her home and financial security as well (much like Mrs. Dashwood of S&S). Charles Vernon (Sir Frederick's brother) now inherits his brother's estate and wealth, and he makes no attempt to relieve Lady Vernon from the poverty and distress she now faces or make good on the promise he made to his brother.

Charles Vernon, a greedy and self-serving man, has great animosity towards Lady Vernon because of her preference for his brother over him. In addition, he holds a grudge against her for refusing to sell him their second estate, Vernon Castle. His wife, Catherine, also holds no special regard for Lady Vernon because some unfortunate rumors reached her ears about Lady Vernon objecting to her marrying Charles. Charles and Catherine are such diverting and flawed characters, and the authors aptly handled them with Austen's acerbic wit and sarcastic tone.

Sir James Martin and his mother, Lady Martin, to me, resemble Henry Higgins and his mother from “My Fair Lady.” I delighted in their banter and feigned displeasure and indifference with one another. Sir James is a bachelor at the age of thirty-five and is rumored to be in pursuit of marriage with Frederica (Lady Vernon's daughter). Instead of squelching these rumors, Sir James roguishly takes pleasure in fanning the flames of this falsehood.

I dearly loved reading this novel by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway, I enjoyed the mishaps and miscommunications, the treachery and the triumphs, and how it all wrapped up very neatly at the end. In addition, I like how the novel was interspersed with letters between the characters. It was entertaining and revealing to hear their voices and inner most thoughts and opinions. Furthermore, included in the beginning of this novel was a very useful family tree that displayed how the main characters are related to one another.

The one thing that held me back from giving this book five stars is the fact that Lady Vernon and Frederica Vernon were without any flaws or imperfections. Some of my most favorite Jane Austen heroines are ones that err and have faults. Jane Austen's heroines are not models of perfection, (one of her famous quotes is: “Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked”), instead she uses her heroines to portray the benefits of internal growth, self-awareness, and maturity. I enjoy relating to characters like Elizabeth Bennet and Marianne Dashwood and seeing how their imperfections and mistakes mirror my own (and also learn from their mistakes and experiences). I would have loved the opportunity to connect with Lady Vernon and Frederica in this same special way.

[Heather · Rating 2 out of 5]

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 *removes* every letter from Lady Susan to her confidante Alicia Johnson... the very best bits of the original.

Also, Lady Susan (in this novel) is a heroine who is just too perfect to be true. And to quote Jane Austen herself, "Pictures of perfection, as you know, make me sick and wicked."

This is not a bad novel and I daresay I might have enjoyed it more if the characters names had all been changed to something different, and I wasn't comparing them with their originals. But I much prefer the scandalous heroine of Jane Austen's imagination than the long-suffering, sensible, upright, and slightly boring protagonist of this new version.

[Sharon · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Elentarri]

I am not a Jane Austen fan, but the epistolary novella "Lady Susan" has always been my favourite Jane Austen story.  When I came across this novel in an animal charity shop, described as an expanded treatment of "Lady Susan", similarly to the way Austen's novella "Elinor and Marianne" had been revised and expanded to become "Sense and Sensibility", I decided to give it a shot.  If I liked the book, great!  If I loathed it, my money would still not be wasted since it was feeding animals in need.  Well, in the end I rather like this book.  Enough to add it to my library.

"A woman with neither property nor fortune must ward off this affliction by cultivating the beauty, brilliance, and accomplishment that will blind a promising suitor to the want of a dowry.  When she is securely married, she may suspend her own improvement and turn her energies toward the domestication of her husband and the acquisition of wealthy suitors for their daughters.  Still, she must never sink to complacency, but always keep sharp, for it may be her unfortunate lot to survive her spouse and she will be thrown back upon her wits once more."

In Jane Austen's novella, the reader comes to know the protagonist, Lady Susan (Vernon), "the most dangerous coquette in England," as a beautiful widow (with a daughter of marriageable age), who is both captivating and calculating, with the combination of a lively wit and self-interest.  Austen's novella opens with Lady Susan descending upon her brother-in-law's household after her flirtations have made her unwelcome at the home of her friends the Manwarings.

The authors of "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter" take the end result of Austen's novella and work backwards, also examining the narratives of Austen's other novels, to extract the motives and mechanisms of various characters (which usually hinge on practical incentive i.e. "it is a truth, acknowledged throughout Austen's canon, that an unmarried woman, in possession of neither property nor fortune, must be in want of a husband for herself and/or her daughters").

The novel itself maintains a Jane Austen flavour and style of writing, which I thought was a nice gesture and works well for an extension of a Jane Austen novella.  While "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter" is not an epistolary novel, it does include numerous letters travelling between characters, which I rather liked (I think some of these letters may even be straight from the original novella?).  The story starts while Lady Susan Verson is still married, rather than after her husband's demise, and introduces her husband's brother.  This gives depth and history to the protagonist and her daughter, and gives the authors' something to work with. 

Without giving too much away, I will say this is an entertaining novel of malicious actions, gossip, speculation, misunderstandings, desperation, and a nicely sized cast of characters of various personalities, that provides a good (speculative) idea of what was going on behind the scenes of all of the original "Lady Susan" letters.  The twist somewhere near the last third was very interesting.  I will also say that my schadenfreude bone was mightily tickled.

So, while not as charming as the original epistolary novella, I feel "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter" is a fine and delightfully amusing, Austen flavoured, retelling and extension of "Lady Susan".

[Laurie · Rating 4 out of 5]

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.

[Kandi · Rating 4 out of 5]

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!

[QNPoohBear · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book fleshes out Jane Austen's novella Lady Susan. In the original, Lady Susan comes across as an anti-heroine. She's seen as a coquette and a terrible mother. While it can be taken at face value, we all know Jane Austen was more complex than that. What would the story be like if Jane Austen had gone back to it to prepare it for publication? This book asks the questions: "Who is Lady Susan Vernon really?" and "What made her that way?" It turns everything you think you know on it's head!

The plot starts off well before Susan is even born. Susan Martin is a young, vivacious, accomplished woman. She's from a minor gentry/banking background and doesn't have much in the way of a fortune but her accomplishments make up for it. Her aunt Lady Martin wishes to marry her only son James to his cousin Susan. Susan loves James very much, but only like a brother. James' father objects to the match so he puts Susan in the way of some young acquaintances of his, the Vernon brothers. Charles, the younger brother is charming but Susan can see through his charm to his less than desirable personality. His elder brother Frederick, though much older than Susan, is a more interesting companion. He's quiet,loves books and dogs but is a good companion. Charles plans to ask Susan for her hand in marriage if he can be sure she will have something more than 5 thousand pounds. While he deliberates, his older brother steals a march on him and proposes to Susan. Susan eagerly accepts Frederick's hand in marriage. The couple are very happy together and adore their daughter Frederica. A financial crisis ten years into the marriage compels them to sell their home, Vernon Castle, but still does not lessen their love. They are quite content at Churchill until Sir Frederick has an accident. Charles is quite attendant on Sir Frederick during the crisis, with his own agenda in mind. The ladies are bit suspicious but they do not have any proof of villainy. Lady Vernon and her daughter are thrilled when Sir Frederick recovers. He realizes he must do something for his ladies in case of another accident or illness. Sadly, Sir Frederick dies before he can call on his solicitor. The ladies are left homeless when Charles and Catherine Vernon move in with their brood.Poverty and misery cause the Vernon ladies to visit friends in the country where they are forced to socialize with idle, silly gossips who give the ladies the reputations that stick with them for the rest of the novel. Lady Vernon attempts to remain independent of her relatives and find a suitable husband for her daughter. Of course she will consider her daughter's happiness above all else but who will marry a girl without a dowry? Rumors swirl about Sir James Martin and Frederica; Susan and two other gentlemen and fuel the gossip mill from town to country until the story reaches it's inevitable conclusion.

It begins slowly and I kept having to refer to the family tree in the beginning to keep everyone straight. The plot gets more interesting when the story picks up where Austen's story begins. The authors flesh out the letters in the original story to show the whole story. They ascribe meaning and motive behind every behavior. The characters you thought you loved to hate become sympathetic and the characters you liked become villains. It follows the traditional Austen model of money, courtship and happiness. There is a plot twist at the end that I don't see Austen including. It's very unlike her. It surprised me greatly because I didn't expect it. I kept expecting it not to be what it seemed or not to have the outcome it did. It made the story wrap up a little too neatly. This story perfectly captures Austen's message about how difficult it was to be a woman without fortune, something she knew all too well.

The writing style is very much like Jane Austen. The authors borrow her sentence structure and word choices and sometimes even lift or rewrite well known phrases from the major six novels. I didn't really like the borrowing but I did like the writing style a lot. It's not easy to mimic Jane Austen but they did it successfully.

There are brief mentions of the Elliots from Persuasion and one mention of Mrs. Ferrars. I found it kind of silly to have them inhabit the same world but at the same time, I liked the imagined prequel to Persuasion.

Like Sense and Sensibility, it illuminates the difficulties of being a widow with a daughter without money. Like Mrs. Dashwood, Lady Vernon is forced to sponge of relatives and friends to survive. Unlike Mrs. Dashwood, she worries about her future and her daughter's future. She's not silly about it like Mrs. Bennet. She's practical and realistic about their future. She is truly a concerned and interested parent. She becomes a victim of gossip, first impressions and mistaken impressions. For all of the above reasons, I felt sympathy for her and liked her a lot.

I especially love bookish Frederica. She's a scientist and loves studying plants. She's not pedantic like Mary Bennet; she's practical and good-natured. She can be a bit reserved but she has a kind heart and deserves happiness. She would be a good friend for Mary Bennet to learn from. Her friend Maria Manwaring is also commendable. She's in a difficult situation and unhappy but yet she's determined to be happy no matter what. I didn't like the outcome of her story. It's a bit creepy but she knew what she needed to be happy and I believe she will be.

The Martins are great characters. Sir James is interesting. The only person who truly knows him is Susan. He comes across as a fribble but he has more depth than that. I love the way he casually corrects the Vernons manners while visiting Churchill. He's sort of a Georgette Heyer beta hero. His mother is an intelligent, capable, strong woman who knows what she wants. She's not above meddling in a good way but knows when to keep out and mind her own business and knows when to offer kindness and help when it's needed. I love her relationship with her son. It's very different from the other mother/son relationship in the story.

Reginald is a nice gentleman. I like how his character develops over time as he grows up and gets away from the influence of his ridiculous mother and silly friends. He learns to think and form opinions for himself. He's not hot headed and doesn't really mind the gossip too much. He's kind and gentle and truly caring.

Most of the other characters are awful people, with the exception of the elderly men. Charles Vernon is especially despicable. His wife is stupid. I found her relationship with her mother really bizarre. I fail to see how an intelligent woman like Lady Vernon can be friends with Alicia Johnson whom I found incredible irritating. Her letters are painful to read knowing what's happening from Lady Vernon's point-of-view. I am curious to know what Austen intended for the secondary characters. We know she didn't like foolish, shallow, selfish people and this novel has plenty of them!

Aside from a few very minor issues, this book is excellent. It could be taken for a draft of a 7th Jane Austen novel. I highly recommend it to Jane Austen fans.

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

The authors (a mother-daughter team) did a terrific job of invoking Jane Austen's voice in this lengthened and re-imagined story of Lady Susan Vernon, using Austen's short early work "Lady Susan" as a model and jumping-off point. Several details were turned on their head, like Susan's feelings about her daughter and her brother-in-law Charles, but the letters and style were perfect! And the way the story ended was also just right and would likely make Austen very happy. My only quibble was with the great number of characters with the same last and first names in different generations, and associated cousins and friends. It was really hard to keep everyone straight, even given a family tree in the front, which I referred to often while reading the book. I suppose if I were more familiar with Austen's original works, this part of it would have been easier for me. Still, I enjoyed it quite a lot!

[Lola Shelton-Council · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent. I was conflicted...I did not want to put this book down, nor did I want it to end....very, very good.

[Gabriela Carr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I liked this very much, although towards the end it started to drag on a little bit. The characters were entertaining, with a lot of inspiration clearly taken from ex. Pride and Prejudice. The authors made Lady Vernon more sympathetic that she was in the original text, which I think made for a better full length novel. I enjoyed the nerdiness of the daughter, although I wish they didn’t feel the need to start her every other sentence with “Science tells us…” Lady Martin was very funny, even though she has primarily one joke, as was Sir James Martin. Definitely did credit to the world building of Austen.

[Selah · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best Austen reimaginings I’ve read! The authors take everything from Lady Susan and turn it on its head. The result is witty and delightful.

[Kathleen Kelly · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 Her Daughter, thanks to Lucy at http://www.enchantedbyjosephine.blogs.... thanks again Lucy!!!

So, what did I think of the book?? I loved it!! I just had to giggle in spots. The story is based on letters that Jane Austen had written that were basically abandoned until the authors tell the story now in this novel. These letters tell the story of Lady Vernon and her daughter Frederica and the troubles they end up with after Sir Frederick Vernon dies after an accident. Frederick's brother Charles manages to inherit the estate of his brother and conveniently forgetting his promise to take care of Lady Susan and his niece.

Lady Susan sends Frederica to school where she ends up being asked to leave after she trys to stop a friend from eloping. After that mother and daughter are left to rely on the charity of others for a place to live and to find a way to obtain a good dowry for Frederica so she can make a good "match" because it is all about the money and status. Lady Susan's sister in law, Catherine, is a mean spiteful woman who does not like Lady Susan. Lady Susan had let it be known that she didn't necessarily approve of Catherine's marriage to Charles and Catherine has not forgotten that. So while Catherine lives in the house that should be Lady Vernon's and spends her days trying to make everyone miserable, while Charles also enjoys his new found wealth and perfectly oblivious to anything that is happening in his household and after awhile stays in London to gamble and do whatever else it that 'gentlemen" in this era do.

The other characters in the story include Sir James, a cousin, whom the gossips think is wanting to marry Frederica. Then there is Catherines brother Reginald who is another suitor for either Lady Vernon or Frederica. There is also Catherine and Reginald's parents, Lady and Sir Reginald De Courcy, an aunt of Lady Susan's, Lady Martin.

Most of the characters in the story have no idea that Charles was not taking care of Lady Vernon and her daughter so there is a lot of speculation as to who is wooing who and what Lady Vernon's motives are.

It seems to me that all the characters in this story have nothing better to do in their lives but speculate and gossip about who is going to inherit what and how much and if they are a good match for marriage. As the story goes on it becomes clear that Lady Susan will eventually get things to go her way for her and her daughter. She also has a secret that no one other than her aunt and daughter are privy to.

As I said before, I had to giggle in a few spots and there were certain characters that I liked and several that I didn't like. I felt that by time I got to the end that things worked out the way they should have and "what goes around comes around" as the saying goes and the good people get what they should and that the not so good people get what is coming to them..

This book will appeal to those Jane Austen fans out there and even to those who have never read Jane Austen, like me, will want to check out this book. I highly recommend it...

This book was won in a contest.

[Online Eccentric Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

More reviews (and no fluff) on the blog http://surrealtalvi.wordpress.com/

I 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 of budding romance and the final resolution of that love is a joyous thing. In Lady Vernon and Her Daughter, I never felt invested in Susan Vernon nor did I sympathize with her to any great extent. I even felt disappointed when she manipulated a young gentleman to spark interest in her daughter Frederica. The heroines I love to read about don't manipulate others and don't need manipulation in order to attact a suitor. I really didn't feel the angst and the longing that Austen invokes.

There were not enough witty exchanges between the characters and it was fairly predictable. However, I did feel that the authors captured the period well and they certainly highlighted the plight of women and their utter dependency on men in this society. So if you enjoy period dramas, you will likely enjoy this novel as well. However, Austen purists beware!

Reviewed from an ARC.

[Sabrina · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 would have been nice to at least try and put a stop to them. She lacked sympathy from me on that one. Also, I thought a bit strange; she wanted to hide *something* from Sir James. The fact that she could hide it for so long was amazing as it was noted he was a frequent visitor of hers. Federicka added some sweetness to the book.

While in the end I decided I definitely do like Sir James, he tended to be a bit immature at times. He would redeem himself only to turn around and do something silly again . . .it went on like this throughout the story. But I was rooting for a happy ending for him and it happened. Yippee! His Mother was a fantastic woman and she made me LOL several times.

I have never read Lady Susan, but the authors did supply some of the letters at the end of this book. In reading them – I understand that Jane Austen had not intended for Lady Vernon to be as *good* a person as she was portrayed in this book. In keeping Lady Susan a separate piece of work though, I thought this book was a fast, fun read. A cute story with a happy ending for all.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 something fresh to consume. And I'd daresay that this novel's gentlemen are as dashing and noble as any that Austen herself has conceived. Though at times the effort on the part of the authors is plainly obvious, and Lady Vernon is inhumanely charming and clever whilst her enemies are inconceivably daft, I still have the pleasure of saying Lady Vernon and Her Daughter is the most delightful Austen novel since Pride and Prejudice and Vampires. It would be to the credit of Austen fans to read it.

[Margo Brooks · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 persude her daughter into a good match, as well as herself. But in true Austen fashion, love conquers all.

An interesting side, the audiobook includes an author's note about how they composed the book, as well as a reading of the first quarter of "Lady Susan." It makes for an interesting comparison between the two works and left me wishing that Austen had gone back to finish Lady Susan because she is a deliciously nasty character.

[Christy B · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 opinions of others.

The writing is incredibility crisp and the dialogue witty and refreshing. I just loved everything that came out of Sir James' mouth.

Highly recommended for Janeites!

[Tiffany Dominguez · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is loosely based on several fictional letters written by Jane Austen early on in her writing career. Thankfully the book doesn't take the same path as the movie adaptation, "Love and Friendship," which I absolutely hated. Though, the movie is probably a more accurate depiction of Austen's intent.

This book for me lacked the magic of Austen's other works. It's hard for me to explain why without giving away what happens. Nonetheless, I'm glad to have read it. If any reason, because it takes a far superior path than the movie.

[Kathy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lady Susan was a novella written and abandoned by Jane Austen early in her career. Here the story has been expanded and completed as Austen herself might have done, and it is certainly true to her style. Lady Susan is now Lady Vernon, and she is portrayed more sympathetically than in the original.

[Virginia Papandrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors have done an exceptional rendering of JA's voice, tone, wit, and style in this book. I've read a number of JA-inspired books but this one tops the list. It's also just a good story, with well-drawn characters and an intricate plot.

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a variation of Jane Austen's Lady Susan. A very enjoyable, well-writen story which I look forward to reading again.

[Adele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am not a Jane Austen devotee. I liked Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, but I thought her other works were boring with mostly insipid characters. However, this was a rather enjoyable read with a strong, smart, and honorable female main character and interesting storyline. I had never read Lady Susan, but the authors have a sample reading after the author’s note. After reading the original sample, I felt this novel to be even more enjoyable. Lady Susan was the exact opposite of the Lady Susan in this book and a despicable mother and character. So glad I read this and not wasted time on the original.

[Lisa Almarode · Rating 2 out of 5]

Being familiar with and liking the original Lady Susan very much, I really had trouble with this. To begin with, I was confused and disoriented, and had to refer to reviews to clarify that this was in fact a completely different treatment, the same characters but playing entirely different roles. Since I am wanting more new Austen I continued; but as it goes on, I keep being somewhat upset at the disparagement of Charles and Catherine, I can't lose the feeling that I already know them and they are good people. And Lady Susan herself just seems boring.

[Martha Viehmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Engrossing. The afterward shows that some of the language and incidents are taken right from Austen's early work. However, changing Lady Susan from a bad to a goody-good character and making her brother-in-law so very evil and her sister-in-law so dimwitted makes the romance too pat and removes much of the sting from Austen's social commentary.

Some minor details also seem to completely miss the manners of the day. Not an expert here, just a hunch based on what I read long ago.

[Hannah Watson · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read. But I can’t help but feel like the story was missing something...
It’s quite dry. I think making Lady Susan more of a heroine, rather than her original anti-heroine status, takes away the interest in the whole thing.
I like Lady Susan. I found this adaption dry and a little dull

[Catherine Letendre · Rating 3 out of 5]

Très bien écrit, respectueux de Jane Austen, un style épistolaire que l'on retrouve dans l'original Lady Susan et une belle utilisation des rumeurs qui à l'époque faisaient ou défaisaient une réputation. Pourtant, je ne me suis pas attachée aux personnages et n'avais aucune excitation à tourner les pages.

[amypete · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm always a sucker for an Austen rewrite. This one started very flat with so many characters I almost put it down. But it improved and the writing was quite good. Interesting to read after seeing the movie "Love and Friendship." Totally different characterization here.

[Kathy Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had a difficult time getting into this book. I put it down for a while and when I went back to reading it, I enjoyed it. I was in the mood for a “happily ever after” story and I would say this was it. I read a lot of Jane Austen look alike and this was reminiscent of them.

[Gretta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, well researched and great for Jane Austen nerds who have exhausted all her novels for the 20th time. However, the author seems to take away the character’s teeth. Still, I would recommend it to those interested in the period and Austen’s work.

[Camille · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent read, thoroughly enjoyed this book. Very well developed plot, despite the fact that the relationships or attachments between the characters weren’t. The romantic partners seemed almost interchangeable. I still enjoy this Jane Austen style of writing.