English literature can boastwealth of genres. Beautiful writers of England are known throughout the world. The works of many of them became the world recognized classics. Until now, the tops of books of all ages and peoples are filled with creations of English writers.
Acquaintance with the author
The English writer Jane Austen wrote ingenre of realism, she also liked to use satire in her works and wrote novels about morals. Her books are considered masterpieces around the world, and each generation reads them with ecstasy. What is the secret of this writer? The thing is that Jane Austen wrote in an individual manner - she did not seek to please someone and squeeze into certain literary frameworks. Her books are sincere, simple, deep and psychological novels, in the heroes of which each reader recognizes himself. It is impossible not to mention the original English humor - a soft, ironic, which has a note of good banter.
In addition, the name of this writer belongs to the title "First Lady" of English literature. Her creations are included in the compulsory course of study in almost all secondary and higher educational institutions.
About the novel "Lady Susan"
To begin with, it should be noted that the novel is writtenin the epistolary style. He narrates about a complex history and complex characters. The novel in the letters was written at the very beginning of the difficult creative path of Austin. The young girl wrote an amazing story, which is not typical for her then-old age. Many are struck by deep psychologism and detailed penetration into the character and characteristics of each hero of history.
Apparently, the writer did not plan at allpublish a book. Jane Austen never offered it to publishers, unlike her other works. A copy of the novel of 1805 was preserved in the version in which the author most likely would like to publish it. This assumption is expressed by most researchers in the work of Jane Austen. It was in this form that the book was published. The novel in the letters tells about the bilious widow, who by all methods achieves the set goals. The whole story takes 41 letters.
main characters
The novel in letters introduces the reader to the veryinteresting, uncommon heroes. Each of them has a certain character trait. The interaction of such ambiguous characters is rather amusing to observe. At the same time Austin carefully approached the display of the internal state of each character. So, let's start our acquaintance.
The main role belongs to Lady Susan Vernon,a woman of 35 years, who lost her husband. This is a hypocritical cunning person who wants to marry her daughter. The main quality of the future spouse, according to the mother, is a high position in society and wealth. In itself Susan Vernon does not represent anything worthwhile, but she has got used to achieve much by flattery and flirtation in relations with men. She considers her daughter Frederik dumb, soft and slow, and also unable to organize her future life.
Frederick Suzanne Vernon is a 16-year-old girl, the daughter of Lady Vernon. She is shy, shy and calm. She is afraid of her mother, who has despised her since childhood. Has a secret sympathy.
Charles Vernon - is Lady Lady Susan's brother.
Reginald de Courcy is the brother of Mrs. Vernon, who at the beginning of the story was in love with Lady Susan. After a certain time he reveals the true essence of a hypocritical woman.
Mrs. Catherine Vernon is the wife of Charles Vernon. She has a burning hatred for Lady Susan since her youth, when she tried to destroy the family happiness of a young family.
Lady de Courcy is Reginald's mother, who worries about her son, because she understands Lady Susan's intentions well.
Alicia Johnson - is a close friend of Lady Susan, despite the fact that the spouse is against communication. It is her Susan trusts all her secrets and does not hide the true face.
The plot line of the book
"Lady Susan" is a book that strikesintricacy and cunning plot. Susan Vernon, already elderly, lost her husband. Despite this, the woman does not despair, but tries to establish all spheres of her life by any means, going "by the corpses". The family estate, in which the whole family lived, was sold for numerous debts. Because of this, the widowed lady is no longer taken in the decent houses of the district. This circumstance considerably spoils the life of the pretentious lady, who is accustomed to attention, flattery and expensive decorations. It is because of this that the main life goal of Lady Susan is to improve her financial situation. One of the possible ways leading to the realization of this idea is the successful marriage of the young daughter.
Suddenly, a widow receives an invitation to visit frombrother of the deceased husband. Lady Susan sees this as an interesting opportunity and immediately agrees. Having looked in advance for the young daughter of the rich lord, the mother throws her former life, friends, friends and goes to a new place - to try her luck. His brother's family lives in the provinces. The attentive reader understands that the invitation to visit was purely formal, therefore relatives are not at all delighted with the newcomers. However, following the rules of good taste, they are received in a well-mannered and friendly way.
A young lord who was looked after by a lady fordaughter, is incredibly stupid. He is not interested in the young and impressionable Frederic, even disgusted. The Lord, in turn, is more interested in the older lady than with the young naive creature. Meanwhile, to the lady Susan comes brother - Reginald de Courcy - a rich and educated man. Learning about the excellent financial condition of a relative, Lady Vernon believes that he can become a worthy candidate for the role of the second husband. From this moment the lady begins to weave a stunning network of intrigues, into which she intrudes absolutely everyone, even her own daughter. However, the cunning of her at the end of the book is exposed. The true face of the intriguer is revealed to all. Struck with such cunning and anger, many turn away from it, good triumphs over evil.
Positive reviews
The book by Jane Austen "Lady Susan", reviews of which are very numerous and diverse, is considered a classic of world literature. Many readers pay tribute to the author's writing skills.
Mainly positive reviews about the bookconverge in that the work is an excellent, comprehensive source of information about the characters of people. Versatile images of the characters make it possible to make a detailed impression of each. At the same time, many of them are so different that they represent an amazing contrast. The most interesting point is that some characters themselves contain a set of conflicting qualities. It is very interesting to observe the fact that the person will gain the upper hand - good or evil.
Criticism
Criticism of the work is based on the fact thatThe plot is a very trivial fact. The events described were very typical of the heroes of that time. Many women, having lost their husband, did not want to give up the benefits of wealth and the advantages of entering the higher strata of society. Due to the fact that the woman actually could not earn, she had only to get a significant inheritance or get rich husband.
The novel in the light of other works of the author
The book "Lady Susan" is one of the firstworks of jane austen. It is amazing how much psychology the author put into history at the very beginning of her creative activity. In her subsequent works, Austin rarely resorted to portraying such contradictory characters. As a matter of fact, she paid more attention to the inner experiences of modest, sensible heroes who did not seek to occupy a prominent place in society or to get a rich husband.
Modern look
Despite the fact that the book was written long ago, sheremains very relevant. What has changed is that many women are trying to find a profitable party for themselves through the intricacies of intrigue. Probably, such thoughts and desires will never disappear. It is not even known what motivates women to build such chains - the thirst for money or the desire to diversify life with events and people.
