Northanger Abbey, Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon by Jane Austen
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
I have now come to the part in my research, which requires me to read Austen’s works, finished and unfinished.
I think this was my third or fourth time reading Northanger Abbey and I’m surprised and delighted how every subsequent read is just as entertaining and as fresh as the first read.
I have to say, though, that having done as much research on Austen’s life and work, I’m baffled by the harsh critique some critics give poor Catherine Morland.
She deserves a lot more credit than I have seen her receive throughout my research and sometimes I wonder, if these critics truly see Catherine for who she is and becomes. Or if they only build on a previous critic’s notion, which since has become undisputed fact.
Another point I vehemently stress is that Northanger Abbey isn’t really a satire. It’s a comedy with gothic elements and, obviously, plenty of Austen’s wit and humour.
Even though I am only at the beginning of my venture through Austen’s novels, going in chronological order and paying close attention to my proposed thesis point, I must confess Northanger Abbey will always remain my favourite.
The other three works that are included in this volume, Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon were all new to me and provided a lot of food for thought.
I found Lady Susan equally shocking and impressive and now I understand why some people call it an important piece of early feminist writing.
Austen’s decision to create a character so completely unlikeable, rude and unabashed is remarkable and begs the question as to why she chose to put someone like her in the centre of the story.
Truthfully speaking, I did not like Lady Susan. It gave me no pleasure reading it, although it was highly interesting.
What I found worthy of noting in The Watsons is the fact that most of the plot, as much as there was of it in the little of the manuscript that exists, is driven by dialogue.
The characters were highly intriguing, I enjoyed Austen’s description of the proceedings of a ball. I was never able to get a good account on how such an event was organized and executed.
Scholars suspect Austen gave up writing The Watsons, because of her change in situation; her abrupt and permanent removal from her home in Steventon and her father’s death only a few years later.
I can also see how this would have been a difficult story to finish, structurally. What we now have of The Watsons is entertaining, but I wonder how the plot could have advanced in a plausible way.
The text was unedited, without any chapter breaks and barely any paragraph breaks and quotation signs to indicate dialogue from narration, which made the block of text a bit difficult to read.
Either way, I enjoyed it.
I had a hard time getting into the story of Sanditon. The beginning was rather slow, but that could have also been because of my lack of time, which forced me to read it in little snippets.
Something I can’t stand.
Once I got into the story, I was invested. The characters were charming and there were so many points of interesting plot twists Austen already set up that I am feeling a true sense of loss right now, for this story will never be finished as it was intended to unfold.
Overall, I’m glad I had the opportunity to read Northanger Abbey again and even more delighted I finally took the time to read her unfinished works. They are a must read for every Austen enthusiast.
