苏珊夫人 (1871)

《苏珊夫人》（Lady Susan）是简·奥斯丁创作的一篇简短的书信体小说，可能写于1794年，但直到1871年才出版。

情节概要

这篇书信体小说是简·奥斯丁早期完成的作品，但她从未提交出版过。描述了寡妇苏珊夫人为她自己寻找新的丈夫，并且她也决定要将自己的女儿也嫁出去的计划。

中文译本

这部小说中译仅在奥斯丁精选集中出现，直到2016年好读发行以书名《苏珊夫人》出版。

《奥斯丁精选集》(选译《苏珊夫人》)，朱虹编译，山东文艺出版社，1999年9月

《沙地屯》(附《苏珊夫人》)，常立、车振华译，上海三联书店，2014年4月

《苏珊夫人》(附《爱与友谊》)，刘珮芳, 陈筱宛译，台中好读发行出版，2016年8月

改编作品

本书的改编电影《爱情与友谊》于2016年上映，由惠特·史蒂曼执导，女主角苏珊夫人为凯特·贝金塞尔饰演。

Lady Susan is an epistolary novella by Jane Austen, written circa 1794 but not published until 1871. This early complete work, which the author never submitted for publication, describes the schemes of the title character.

Synopsis

Lady Susan Vernon, a recent widow, visits the brother of her recently deceased husband and his wife, Charles and Catherine Vernon, with little advance notice, at their country residence. Catherine is displeased, as Lady Susan had tried to prevent her marriage to Charles and her unwanted guest has been described to her as "the most accomplished coquette in England". Among Lady Susan's conquests is the married Mr. Manwaring. Lady Susan had been staying at the Manwarings' residence but had to leave rather abruptly after she seduced both Mr. Manwaring and his younger sister's fiancé.

Catherine's brother Reginald arrives a week later, wanting desperately to meet the Lady Susan that everyone speaks so poorly of, and despite Catherine's strong warnings about Lady Susan's character, soon falls under her spell. Lady Susan toys with the younger man's affections for her own amusement and later because she perceives it makes her sister-in-law uneasy. Her confidante, Alicia Johnson, to whom she writes frequently, recommends she marry the very eligible Reginald, but Lady Susan considers him to be greatly inferior to Manwaring.

Frederica, Lady Susan's 16-year-old daughter, tries to run away from school when she learns of her mother's plan to marry her off to a wealthy but insipid young man she loathes -- the previous fiancé of Mr. Manwaring's daughter, who is still in love with Lady Susan. She also becomes a guest at Churchill. Despite how poorly Susan speaks of her daughter, Catherine comes to like Frederica -- her character is totally unlike her mother's -- and as time goes by, detects Frederica's growing attachment to the oblivious Reginald.

Later, Sir James Martin, Frederica's unwanted suitor, shows up uninvited, much to her distress and her mother's vexation. When Frederica begs Reginald for support out of desperation (having been forbidden by Lady Susan to turn to Charles and Catherine), she causes a temporary breach between Reginald and Lady Susan, but the latter soon repairs the rupture.

Lady Susan decides to return to London and marry her daughter off to Sir James. Reginald follows, still bewitched by her charms and intent on marrying her, but he encounters Mrs. Manwaring at the home of Mr. Johnson and finally learns Lady Susan's true character. Alicia writes that her husband has forbidden her to meet with or write to Susan anymore, at the threat of them moving full-time to the countryside. Lady Susan ends up marrying Sir James herself, and allows Frederica to reside with Charles and Catherine at Churchill, where Reginald De Courcy "could be talked, flattered, and finessed into an affection for her."

Main characters

Lady Susan Vernon: One of the primary correspondents of the novel, Lady Susan Vernon is about 35 years old. She is a recent widow in need of money. She flagrantly manipulates and flirts with men. She wants to marry off her daughter Frederica and procure an even better match for herself. She is described as "excessively pretty...delicately fair, with fine grey eyes and dark eyelashes" and appearing ten years younger than her actual age.

Lady Susan is contemptuous of her daughter. Jane Austen may have drawn on the character of her neighbour Mrs. Craven, a beautiful woman who abused her daughters until they ran away from home or married beneath their class to escape.

Frederica Vernon: Daughter of Lady Susan. Oppressed by her mother, Frederica is not as beautiful as her mother. She is a very shy, sweet girl whose kind nature is at odds with Lady Susan's venal selfishness, which endears her to the Vernons.

Catherine Vernon: The other primary correspondent of the novel and sister-in-law to Lady Susan. She is horrified by Lady Susan and grows deeply attached to Frederica.