Summary
Summary of Lady Susan
Key ideas
Key idea 1
Letters reveal competing versions of truth
Lady Susan Vernon is a beautiful, clever widow whose charm comes without conscience. Moving between great houses, she seeks a husband for herself and another for her daughter, while leaving scandal behind her. Her story reaches us almost entirely through letters.
We hear both her private voice with her friend Alicia and the anxious voices of the family watching her. These accounts rarely agree. From the start, the book makes the distance between a pleasing appearance and a hidden intention central to its comedy.
Key idea 2
A gentle appeal hides fresh scandal
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Key idea 3
Catherine distrusts a polished welcome
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Key idea 4
Frederica bears the cost of control
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Key idea 5
Reginald mistakes charm for innocence
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Key idea 6
Polite manners do not establish goodness
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Key idea 7
Each letter shows only part
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Key idea 8
Hidden motives shape the family drama
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The rest of the summary, written and spoken, and the whole book: free to start.
Read the rest freeWho it’s for
For readers who love Austen's sharp wit, clever villains who speak for themselves, and comedies of manners where private letters reveal what public charm conceals.
What this book is
Lady Susan is a short novel told almost entirely in letters. Jane Austen wrote it in the 1790s, when she was a young woman, and never published it in her lifetime. It first appeared in print in 1871, long after her death in 1817. Its heroine is unlike any later Austen heroine. Lady Susan Vernon is a beautiful widow of about thirty-five, clever, charming and without a trace of conscience.
The book follows her as she moves from one great house to another, leaving scandal behind her and looking for a husband for herself and another for her daughter. We read her own letters to her friend Alicia, and we read the letters of the family who watch her with alarm. The two sets of voices rarely agree. You get a sharp comedy of manners, a study of a woman who uses talk as a weapon, and an early look at the wit that fills Austen's later books. First, let us meet Lady Susan as she leaves her latest trouble behind.
In this summary
- 1A charming widow leaves in disgraceFree
- 2Churchill welcomes her with suspicion
- 3A daughter becomes a pawn
- 4Reginald De Courcy comes to judge her
- 5What the story is really about
- 6How the letters build the story
Key point 1 of 6
A charming widow leaves in disgrace
The story opens with a letter from Lady Susan to her brother-in-law, Charles Vernon. She asks to stay at his home, Churchill, and she writes as a gentle woman wounded by cruel gossip. She says she wants only quiet and the company of family. The tone is so sweet that the reader almost believes her.
Then we read her letters to Alicia Johnson, her close friend in London, and the picture changes. Lady Susan has been staying at Langford with the Manwaring family. While there, she has flirted with Mr Manwaring, who is married, and she has also won the attention of a young man who was courting Miss Manwaring. The household has become a battlefield, and she says the jealousy and hostility there make it impossible for her to stay. She tells all this to Alicia with amusement, as though it were a game she has played well.
Alicia is her partner in mischief. She is married to Mr Johnson, a man who disapproves of Lady Susan and has the power to forbid her from visiting his house. Alicia must therefore plot behind his back, and her letters show a woman who admires her friend's daring while living more cautiously herself. Through these letters we learn how Lady Susan sees the world. People are pieces to be moved, and a good conversation is a form of conquest.
The contrast between her public sweetness and her private cunning sets the pattern for the whole book. Every polite phrase she writes to the Vernons has a second meaning in her letters to Alicia. A listener soon learns to hear both at once, and that double hearing is much of the pleasure.
That’s 1 of 6 key points.
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Check yourself
Why does Lady Susan want Frederica to marry Sir James Martin?
Right. “A rich match would solve the girl's future, and it would also relieve her mother of a burden.”Not quite. “A rich match would solve the girl's future, and it would also relieve her mother of a burden.”
How does Lady Susan win over Reginald?
Right. “She lets him think that her enemies have slandered her, and that she has borne it with patience.”Not quite. “She lets him think that her enemies have slandered her, and that she has borne it with patience.”
How do the letters create humour?
Right. “The reader holds more knowledge than any one character, and that gap is where the humour comes from.”Not quite. “The reader holds more knowledge than any one character, and that gap is where the humour comes from.”
Who’s who
- Lady Susan Vernon
- A charming widow, she seeks advantageous marriages for herself and her daughter while relying on relatives and friends.
- Frederica Vernon
- Lady Susan's shy daughter fears her mother's marriage plans and looks for kindness from her relatives.
- Catherine Vernon
- Charles Vernon's sensible wife distrusts her sister-in-law Lady Susan and worries about her influence over Reginald.
- Charles Vernon
- Lady Susan's good-natured brother-in-law welcomes her to Churchill, where he lives with Catherine and their children.
- Reginald De Courcy
- Catherine's confident younger brother visits Churchill determined to judge Lady Susan despite her reputation for captivating men.
- Alicia Johnson
- Lady Susan's trusted friend receives her candid letters and supports her schemes despite her husband's disapproval.
- Sir James Martin
- A wealthy and foolish young man, he is Lady Susan's preferred prospective husband for her daughter Frederica.
About this edition
Every format is free to start, and print and large print are at cost.
- LengthAbout 23,000 words
- Reading timeAbout 1 h 35 min
- Listening time2 h 35 min
- FormatseBook, large-print eBook, audiobook, 15-minute summary
- LanguagesEnglish and 13 other languages
