Jane Austen

Lady Susan Illustrated Jane Austen

The victim of a vicious scandal, the impoverished Lady Susan is obliged to take up residence with her brother-in-law and his family. Refusing to resign herself to the role of placid house guest, she conspires to baffle her hosts, seducing her sister-in-law's brother in the process by means of her impeccable gentility and some well-judged flirtation. Yet before her victory is complete, she must first contend with the untimely appearance of a former lover. Inspired by Les Liaisons Dangereuses, and written in a similar epistolary form, Lady Susan is one of Jane Austen's earliest finished works (written around 1794). In it, she reveals all the caustic wit and brilliant social satire of her later novellas.