Literature

Some critics say the concluding moral in ‘Lady Susan’ is sloppily tacked on. But, there are many who consider the ending to be an intentional literary act, composed at a time when a great deal of polite fiction was expected to have a neat, pat, didactic moral lesson to tie together all of the loose ends of the story. […]

Lady Susan has a lying, cheating, beautiful widow as its main character. Lady Susan herself is not written as a character in black or white. She is someone that many readers find simultaneously captivating and horrifying. […]

When the second edition of ‘Memoir of Jane Austen’ was set to be published, it was decided to add some previously unpublished fiction from Austen as an appendix. It was ‘Lady Susan’. […]

Austen saw her family going through a series of ailments. She herself was a victim to long period of illnesses which culminated in her death. All her experiences with health issues made their way in her works. […]

Jane Austen showed many of her characters being affected by health issues. This in turn shaped the plots of those novels. Her works also served as an analysis of the 19th century society when tragic and fatal illnesses were common. […]

War, strife, revolutionary ideals, political upheaval—such were the times when JaneAusten was writing. Changes in social structure and beliefs had a significant impact on her life and works. […]

The revolution sweeping across Britain in 18th and 19th centuries had an undeniable influence on Jane Austen’s works. Her writings bear a subtle testimony to the horrors of war and political turbulence. […]

Jane Austen lived during the turbulent political times that saw the French Revolution. Wartime bears its markings on not just her and her family’s lives, but also on her writings. […]