Lady Vernon and Her Daughter: A Novel of Jane Austen's Lady Susan

by Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway

Book Overview

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...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0307461661
• ISBN13: 9780307461667
• Release Date: October 2009
• Publisher: Crown Publishing Group (NY)
• Length: 328 Pages
• Weight: 1.29 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.1" x 6.5" x 9.2"

Customer Reviews

Great read! Couldn't put it down.

Almost forget it's not written by Jane Austen!

It isn't easy to write a book as if you were Jane Austen, but the authors have just about pulled it off. I once attempted to read Austen's novella, Lady Susan, but found it awkward and uninteresting. There really wasn't a story there, there weren't any characters I cared about, and I can't remember even finishing it. Had this been Austen's Lady Susan, I would definitely remember it better. The authors have done a great job fleshing out the original and, I think, making some much-needed changes. The dialog and running commentary flows flawlessly in true Austen fashion. The sharp wit, the philosophical and pithy observations that make ordinary conversations so interesting in Austen's books are here throughout. The human misunderstandings and misperceptions that characterize Austen books are also here. The humor is less implied and more obvious than is usual in Austen, both in the character of James and in story line in general, but it fits in seamlessly. The characters are firmly rooted in their time and place. Their behavior, their motivations, and the outcome of both are pure Austen. James, the hero, is a complex mix of qualities. He is deeper than he appears and is generally misunderstood by everyone but, as the pages turn, the true person emerges in true "Mr. Darcy" fashion. Of all the characters, he is my favorite. While I find no fault at all with the author's changes to the original storyline and characters--quite the opposite--I do think that a change in the pacing of the book would have been beneficial. I realize that the stage for Charles' villainy, etc, has to be set, but the first part (in which the reader is just waiting for poor Sir Frederick's inevitable death) feels longer and slower than it has to be. It is almost a relief to get him dead and buried so that the real story can begin. From there on, it is an absolute treat and I highly recommend it.

Pleasantly surprised!

I often feel great fear when someone attempts to finish an unfinished work of a deceased writer. They either can't get the flow of the wording right or they stick in some modern agenda. "Lady Vernon and Her Daughter" was neither of these. I thought the author did a great job of "finishing" what Jane Austen left behind entitled "Lady Susan". I am a big Jane Austen fan and would have been sad and mad if someone botched the job, but this was the opposite of the feared disappointment. Try it out and you'll see what I mean. You'll enjoy the Austen plot of marriage laced with sarcasm and wit! The main characters are interesting and the scene well-developed. The story clips right along a little fast for perfection, but it is forgiveable by the skill of writing which is greatly lacking in our modern writers. Grab some tea and a scone and enjoy!

A very enjoyable novel in believable Austen style

Despite an assumed match between herself and her cousin Sir James Martin, Miss Susan Martin chose to marry Sir Frederick Vernon, and was very happy for her choice. Though she was courted by Sir Frederick's younger brother, Mr. Charles Vernon, Lady Vernon disregarded this as soon as she was married. Her union was blessed with a daughter, Frederica, and all three lived happily until a hunting accident laid Sir Frederick low with a life-threatening illness. Frederica had seen her uncle very near her father at the time of his accident, Mr. Vernon seemingly inactive until he spotted her. Worse, her father died in the understanding that his brother would provide for his wife and daughter as he'd stipulated, but Mr. Vernon had no such scruples, and Lady Vernon and her daughter are left to make their own way in society. I have never read the Jane Austen novella on which this novel was based and I think that helped me enjoy it more. I did in fact very much like it. It deals in very typical Austen themes but it doesn't quite match the feel of her work. Since I hadn't read the original novella to compare it against, my expectations weren't very high, and I ended up genuinely liking the characters and looking forward to seeing what happened and how it all wound up. My favorite part of the novel was all the misunderstandings that arose based on gossip. At first the gossip was harmful, and I wasn't fond of that, but soon enough I realized in what direction the story was going and it became very funny. It's easy to see how such things could arise when the only communication long distance was letters, and anyone could say anything they liked in a letter with no other contact for contradiction in the country. There is also the gap of time, and anything could happen between receipt of a letter and the next. In any case, I thought this was all demonstrated very well, and I got quite a kick out of it. I also felt that the novel kept very much to a Austen-like propriety. In modern sequels, there is often an over-emphasis on romance, which I like in modern novels, but which I don't really feel is appropriate for anyone imitating Austen. I enjoy the way Austen's characters express their feelings for one another, and I think these authors pull off a very credible, discrete imitation, which gives the impression of full feelings with nothing beyond words. So, when not compared to Jane Austen herself, Lady Vernon and Her Daughter is a wonderful diversion. It was short and pleasant and I enjoyed my time with it. I would definitely recommend it to fans of historical fiction.

Lady Vernon and Her Daughter: A Novel of Jane Austen's Lady Susan

I just closed the book and I whole-heartedly recommend this lively, solidly written novel to Jane Austen fans. The authors have taken a single-dimensional story and expanded it into an entertaining, fully-realized novel with strong, well-rounded female and male characters. It's a brilliant homage to JA and an authentic trip through the Regency era, plus just a darn good read. The authors re-fashion the character of lady Vernon, who seems a ruthless woman in Jane Austen's original story, and make her a multi-dimensional, captivating and sympathetic character. Like a Mildred Pierce from the regency era, she is a mother whose motives for survival are clear. Lady Vernon, as portrayed here, belongs firmly in the canon of Jane Austen's dynamic heroines. The writers do not deviate from the tried and true, but charming, JA formula for storytelling. Jane Rubino's talent as a mystery writer captivates the reader with her storytelling skills, making this novel a great page-turner. The story holds several surprises to entertain the reader along the way to the inevitable but lovely ending.

Almost like a real Austen novel

_Lady Vernon and Her Daughter_ is a rewrite of Jane Austen's completed, but inferior epistolary novella _Lady Susan_. Some Janeites have read _Lady Susan_; but as it is necessary to compare _Lady Vernon_ to it, I beg their indulgence for a brief summary for the benefit of others. As the novella opens, Lady Susan is in her mid 30s (but looks ten years younger). Her husband Sir Frederick Vernon has recently died, leaving his widow and their only child, 16-year-old Frederica, without sufficient financial support. In the short term, Lady Susan must look to extended country-house stays with friends and relations; in the long term, to a rich husband for herself and/or Frederica. After visiting the Mainwarings, an unhappily married but socially busy couple, Lady Susan has invited herself to the home of her husband's brother Charles Vernon and his wife Catherine. Although Sir Frederick and Charles had been estranged for years, and Catherine is determined to resent Lady Susan, Charles accepts her out of family duty. Here Lady Susan simultaneously courts two men: The wealthy but silly Sir James Martin, and Catherine's brother Reginald deCourcy. Although Reginald has not yet come into his inheritance, Lady Susan prefers him for herself because he is more intelligent and sensitive than Sir James. However, with some steering from Catherine, Reginald and Frederica fall in love, so Lady Susan is forced to marry Sir James. The major flaw in Austen's novella is that she fails to give readers any character with whom they can identify. It should of course be Lady Susan, who is beautiful, clever, charming, and a witty conversationalist. In her other novels, Austen heartily sympathizes with the problems created by women's financial dependence on men. However, Lady Susan is rumored to be conducting an affair with Mr. Mainwaring, and even though she tells the Vernons and Reginald deCourcy that the rumors are false, Austen forces her readers to accept them as true. Because Austen cannot morally condone adultery, she presents Lady Susan's attempts to marry as mercenary cradle-snatching, her attempts to marry off Frederica as heartless manipulation, and her charms as skilled deceit. The moral characters are less appealing and/or less well drawn: Catherine Vernon is self-righteous, manipulative, and evidently jealous. Charles Vernon is dull. Reginald deCourcy is charming when he approves of Lady Susan, but arrogant and contemptuous when he does not. Sir James is a stereotypical "rattle." Frederica has no personality other than being shy and victimized. _Lady Vernon and Her Daughter_ adopts and fleshes out the plot of _Lady Susan_, while attempting to correct its flaws. Authors Jane Rubino and Caitlen Rubino-Bradway have eschewed the epistolary form (though a few letters are included). They have seized on the devices of false rumors and false faces to not only do away with all of Lady Susan's moral shortcomings, but to give some to other characters and to inject tension