{"product_id":"unfinished-austen-joanne-wilkes-9781839986024","title":"Unfinished Austen: Interpreting Catharine, Lady Susan, the Watsons and Sanditon","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003eUnfinished Austen\u003c\/em\u003e is a scholarly monograph which examines four texts left incomplete by Jane Austen: \u003cem\u003eCatharine, or the Bower\u003c\/em\u003e (1792--3), \u003cem\u003eLady Susan\u003c\/em\u003e (1795?), \u003cem\u003eThe Watsons\u003c\/em\u003e (1803--4?) and \u003cem\u003eSanditon\u003c\/em\u003e (1817). None was published till well after her death. They have never received nearly as much attention as the six novels that appeared between 1811 and 1817, and this is the first study to examine them in detail, and in relation to each other.\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eThese unfinished texts are fascinating for several reasons. Since very little in manuscript form survives from the six famous novels, these four manuscript texts offer insight into the novelist in the process of creation. All of them feature alterations that show Jane Austen refining her language and demonstrating the orientation of her thinking. The unfinished works also problematize the romance plot salient in the published novels by presenting this in a nebulous or incipient state that underlines its artificiality. In doing so, these texts sometimes draw attention to how the romance plot is inflected by the financial condition in which young marriageable women can find themselves. \u003c\/p\u003e \u003cp\u003eNotable as well is the four texts' handling of place and setting, which become especially prominent in \u003cem\u003eThe Watsons\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSanditon\u003c\/em\u003e. \u003cem\u003eThe Watsons\u003c\/em\u003e creates superbly the life of a small-town family at the edges of gentility, while \u003cem\u003eSanditon\u003c\/em\u003e portrays a small seaside town being developed into a tourist resort--a new trend in Austen's day. Moreover, the stories (other than \u003cem\u003eCatharine\u003c\/em\u003e) have aroused the interest of many later writers--including writers for theatre and screen--who are eager to complete or to amplify them. Developments on screen include Whit Stillman's \u003cem\u003eLove and Friendship \u003c\/em\u003e(which is actually based on Austen's\u003cem\u003e Lady Susan\u003c\/em\u003e), and Andrew Davies's recent continuation of \u003cem\u003eSanditon\u003c\/em\u003e. Completions may develop the stories to some kind of d駭ouement. Perhaps more intriguingly, however, these texts induce some writers to question the very enterprise of concluding an unfinished text.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e Joanne Wilkes\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-10:\u003c\/b\u003e 1839986026\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN-13:\u003c\/b\u003e 9781839986024\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Anthem Press\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eLanguage:\u003c\/b\u003e English\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 09\/05\/2023\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 152\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eFormat:\u003c\/b\u003e Hardcover\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.87lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.50d","brand":"Joanne Wilkes","offers":[{"title":"Hardcover","offer_id":44227946742015,"sku":"9781839986024","price":110.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0662\/2982\/9887\/files\/img_0ea9cd43-73c1-431a-bfb6-0b2363afddc4.jpg?v=1692811344","url":"https:\/\/www.whiterainbookhouse.com\/products\/unfinished-austen-joanne-wilkes-9781839986024","provider":"WR Book House","version":"1.0","type":"link"}