Review by Lynn Lamy, September 16, 1997
This was a fun read. She took the epistolary novel and expanded it into a regular narrative novel, which gave the characters more dimension. It was quite well done, but she did change the story somewhat. Reginald de Courcey ended up sounding a little like a drip, which is unfortunate, because I expected him to be the hero of the story. Karr also develops Mr. Smith into a full character, rather than just one you hear about as having told Reginald about Lady Susan's pastimes. I like Mr. Smith and I like how the story ends, but there's a bit near the end about a duel which I thought was silly and completely unnecessary. Overall, an enjoyable book.
Review by Linda Waldemar, April 20, 2001
First, the title page says "BASED ON THE UNFINISHED NOVEL BY JANE AUSTEN". I never knew that this numbered among JA's unfinished novels! Next Lady Susan's paramour is named Mainwaring; JA called him Manwaring. Then Lady Susan charms Sir James Martin away from Maria Mainwaring, her lover's daughter. I was sure that the relationship was different. So I was prepared for the worse. Well, I was very pleasantly surprised. The author following the plot of JA's letters in narrative form and sticks quite closely to it. She does a good job of fleshing out the characters and it is quite a nice read after all. The story is told mostly from the perspective of Lady Susan and her daughter, Frederica. Karr shows the motivations of Lady Susan and, therefore, gives her more dimension that JA did. However, she is still an evil, cruel manipulator. Frederica is somewhat like Fanny Price; meek and submissive, but with a strong will. She will not be forced into marriage with Sir James! Ms Karr changes the ending of the story a little, but it is not offensive. In her after word, she explains her motivations for some of the changes that she made. She also acknowledges that Austen's work is really not unfinished and that Mainwaring is often, in other editions, Manwaring. Another rare book that is out of print, but worth looking for and reading.
Written by Victoire (April 5, 2004)
Has anybody read Phyllis Ann Karr's setting of JA's unfinished Lady Susan? I loved several other books by Karr, so was excited to read her interpretation of this novel, although I have never read the original. Her Lady Susan has a different style than Austen's usual style, but it feels appropriate somehow. And her touch is brilliant - she has this knack of writing a mystery that sneaks up on you in the middle of romance or fantasy or whatever. Is it fairly true to Austen's manuscript? In any case, it's well worth reading!
