Sanditon: Jane Austen's Last Novel Completed

I truly love anything Austen, and after watching 2 seasons of the Masterpiece series of Sanditon I felt I needed to read what Jane Austen actually wrote, as well as the addition from another author. The beginning was definitely not my favorite Austen writing, but I understand it also wasn't her finished work. The author who continued the story did a good job of developing the characters that Austen began. The book was just not as enticing as her other works - I was able to put it down and come back at a later time without feeling like I just needed to get back to reading. The story was a good story, and somewhat Austenesqe, but didn't completely feel just right (but the series hasn't actually felt 100% Austenesqe to me either). I enjoyed the book overall - it was a good read. It was received in good condition, also.

Five stars for a fragment followed by a pastiche? Yes indeed, for I believe that were this novel published under Jane Austen's name alone, most readers would simply accept it as one of hers from beginning to end. Not one of her greatest, perhaps, but even second-tier Austen is worth five stars. And speaking for myself, a book that I merely intended to dip into out of curiosity first seduced, then gripped me, and left me in the end with tears of pleasure.Jane Austen started the novel that her family called "Sanditon" in early 1817, the year of her death. She wrote twelve chapters and then abandoned it. The fragment was not published until 1925, and is still available in several collections of Austen's minor works, such as that in the Oxford Classics edition. I myself have owned a copy for over fifty years, but was inspired to read it only by reading Anthony Lane's article in the New Yorker of March 13, 2017. Lane suggests that the fragment is a masterpiece in its own right, but I confess I did not find it so. I do agree with him, however, on his major point: that Austen turns her satirical pen to the themes of health and hypochondria, often with hilarious results, at a time when she must surely have been alarmed by her own failing health—a poignant theme when seen in that light.I was also struck by Austen's departure from her normal world. The setting, Sanditon, is a fledgling seaside resort on Britain's south coast, but it is not treated simply as a convenient locale for social interaction, as both Lyme Regis and Bath are in Persuasion. Rather, we look behind the scenes at Sanditon's two entrepreneurs, the gentleman booster Mr. Parker and the money-grubbing Lady Denham, "born to Wealth but not to Education." As a result, the role of money, which has always been a strong subtext in Austen's novels, here becomes a major theme; we have taken a clear step away from the rural villages and landed estates of vintage Austen, and are now in a distinctly more mercantile world.Preparing this for a book club, I stopped where Austen herself put down her pen, and played with ideas on how she might have completed it. It is extraordinarily difficult. For by the twelfth chapter in her four previous novels, Austen had already introduced all the major characters and set the plot in motion; alliances have been made and battle lines set; young people have already fallen in love. In musical terms, she would have already completed her exposition and might even have started the development. But not so here. Many characters have been introduced, it is true, but if they are developed at all it is as figures of satire: blowhards, hypocrites, hypochondriacs, and so on. With one exception: Charlotte Heywood, a young woman with her head very much on her shoulders, whom Mr. Parker invites to stay with his family for the summer. But so far, Charlotte is presented merely as a clear-eyed observer, a mirror in which to reflect the foibles of others; we learn very little about her as a person in her own right. There are a few more young female characters who might be developed in secondary roles, but an almost total absence of sympathetic men. It is true that there is much talk about Mr. Parker's younger brother Sidney, witty and wealthy in equal measure, who is expected to join them at any moment, but Austen stopped before he and Charlotte could meet.I thought for a while and came up with a few things, then turned to "Another Lady's" completion. And was immediately fascinated. "So that's how she goes on," I found myself saying, before realizing that the "she" in this case was not Jane Austen but her anonymous collaborator! And I remained in this ambiguity for much of the rest of the book, essentially making no distinction between the two authors or their styles. I do not want to say too much more except that Another Lady does indeed develop Sidney Parker, and brings down two of his eligible male friends from London with him to correct the gender imbalance. Other than that, she plays fair by working entirely with the characters and themes introduced by Austen herself. Without plagiarizing, she also allows herself echoes of other works. Sidney Parker, for instance, has a lot of the organizing abilities of Austen's Emma Woodhouse (though substituting casual charm for her officiousness), and there are a number of those social set pieces that play such important roles in EMMA and MANSFIELD PARK: excursions around the shore, a carriage trip to a rival resort, and a grand Assembly ball. Even an elopement, but I won't say whose.And she keeps her readers on their toes, with many twists of the plot, only one of which strained my credulity at all. Some were genuine surprises; others I guessed before Charlotte herself did. But that too is part of the Austen style, that the heroine should fail to see something that is increasingly obvious to others. As Sidney says at one point, "Caution and Miss Heywood go very well together." Charlotte's caution, though, is a great part of her attractiveness, and it makes it wonderfully exciting when she finally lets it go. And any caution that a reader may have in picking up such a hybrid of a novel can safely be let go also; many of the most beautiful blooms are hybrids.

A gift

Last unfinished works by acclaimed novelist have an irresistible attraction. Inevitably someone will want to complete them. Psychologically we all want closure in our own lives, as well as our literature. I readily admit when I first read SANDITON, Jane Austen's last unfinished novel, and came to the last lines in chapter 12, "Poor Mr. Hollis! It was impossible not to feel him hardly used: to be obliged to stand back in his own house and see the best place by the fire constantly occupied by Sir Henry Denham." I felt a huge pang of regret. Not only were her characters left dangling, so was I. I had not only been robbed of many hours of reading enjoyment, but of my requisite Austen happy ending.One wonders out loud if the abrupt halt in narrative also affected Another Lady, the anonymous co-author of SANDITON: JANE AUSTEN'S LAST NOVEL COMPLETED inspiring her to finish the story. When it was first published in condensed format in Redbook Magazine in February 1975 there were very few Jane Austen inspired sequels or continuations in print. It would be another twenty years before the movie adaptation of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE would elevate Austen to pop-culture status and launch a thousand and one sequels. What appears to us today as a logical transition to continue the story of Austen's beloved characters in paraliterature was in fact quite a bold move for its day. Evidently the author entered this arena with some serious trepidation by not disclosing her true identity and inserting "An Apology from the Collaborator" as an addendum to the novel. At this point, her attempts to forestall reproof had only fueled my suspicions for her possible success.Written in 1817 during the last six months of Austen's life, the fragment of SANDITON comprises the first eleven chapters and the beginning of chapter twelve in this continuation. The transition was very smooth, and great care had obviously been taken in choice of language and sentence structure to emulate her predecessor. Set on the Sussex coast the emerging village of Sanditon has pretentions to be a posh sea-side resort. The two minions of the community, Mr. Parker an entrepreneurial landowner and his wealthy and parsimonious partner Lady Denham dominate its development and social life. The story unfolds from the perspective of Charlotte Heywood, a young lady visiting Mr. and Mrs. Parker. Sanditon is also populated by a comical ensemble of residents and visitors who upon Charlotte's first acquaintance are altogether different than they later appear. Lady Denham's nephew Sir Edward Denham is handsome, amiable and titled but completely eccentric believing himself to a romantic character born to seduce women. He has designs upon Lady Denham's companion Clara Brereton, a poor relation who is maneuvering to be her heir and in direct competition with him for her favor. Also sharing the spotlight are Mr. Parker's four siblings, three of whom are sad invalids in there own minds. The one bright light of hope in the novel is Mr. Parker's witty and charming brother Sidney. The guests of the resort also include Mrs. Griffith's and her three charges, the sickly Mulatto heiress Miss Adela Lambe and the two predatory husband hunting Beaufort sisters. Another Lady continues the plot, setting, themes and characters established by Austen only adding two new characters, Sidney Parkers friends Mr. Canton and Henry Brudenall.As the story progresses there is a gradual shift in style as the new author takes the reigns stepping beyond Austen's usual refinement and sharp satire into a more burlesque and theatrical comedy. Many predictable lines of narrative follow: Charlotte is cautious and observant, Sidney outspoken and impetuous, Clara beautiful and kind, Sir Edward flamboyant and deluded, all as Austen established until plot twists, elopements and abductions push this into Georgette Heyer territory of outrageous romantic comedy. This change is not wholly unwelcome because the author keeps closely within the confines of Austen's language. In addition, there are also many laugh out loud moments to add levity to the tone. The strongest character to drive the narrative is Sidney Parker whose untoward remarks and officious vanity humorously ruffle Charlotte's overly cautious sensibilities. His teasing and pleasing nature is the closest character I have read to Austen's Henry Tilney from NORTHANGER ABBEY in wit and charm. That, is quite a complement! Readers may also feel a strong sense of déjà vu in finding themselves within familiar Austen territory as they discover several allusions to her characters and plots from all of her novels throughout the new narrative. This was my one objection to the new author. Austen did not have to duplicate anything from her previous stories to drive her plots or accent her ironies. Another Lady uses this crutch too freely at times, and I thought it diminished her credibility.Overall SANDITON: JANE AUSTEN'S LAST NOVEL COMPLETED was a most enjoyable read. After thirty-five years it remains one of the better examples of what to do right with a sequel or continuation and every Janeite and potential Austenesque author should read it. Another Lady might have wanted to "follow Jane Austen's own early example of anonymity" preferring the protection of a moniker, but it may have actually been a shrewd move to shield herself from the wrath of circa 1975 Janeites who were not yet prepared for Austenmania.Laurel Ann, Austenprose

Great condition

I loved this show but was very disappointed with the ending. There should be a second series or a movie length feature. The powers in control should not be allowed to abandon a series just because it doesn’t meet their financial expectations. At least contract for two series to give everyone a “proper parting”

Jane Austen wrote eleven chapters of Sanditon just prior to her death in 1817. The first one to attempt to extend and complete the novel, giving herself the nom de plume "Another Lady"--actually Marie Dobbs--did so in 1975. She crafted an excellent work. The transition from Austen to Dobbs is quite seamless. The former's language and grammatical styles are not exactly early nineteenth century but an excellent imitation and actually easier to read.Frankly the first one third of this book is boring with its lah-di-da dialogues and go-nowhere plot. However, it does pick up from there on. The last third of the book is a pleasure to read, in anticipation of the ending which presents a number of genuine surprises. I was disappointed about the last chapter which I thought could have shown more demonstrative and tender romantic expressions, rather than a collection of recollections, hence my less than perfect rating. From the seeds sown by Austen, Dobbs crafted a work worthy to be put next to Austen's other novels. She has followed Austen's typical plot line, introspective musings, verbose elocutions, contrasting and conflicting characterizations and a happy conclusion. Having sorted out everything by finishing the book I intend to reread the first half, now being able to understand and savour it with more clarity.

I enjoyed this completion of Jane Austen 's Sanditon. I had read the original eleven chapters many years ago and wished that JA had been able to finish. I have thoroughly disliked the recent ITV adaptation in which it seemed to me that the writer had barely a nodding acquaintance with Austen so outrageous were his notions of what she might have written. This version is seamless in its continuation and feels all of a piece with the little that JA gave us. I was only disappointed that it wasn't longer.

I bought this book to cheer me up after the terrible ending of the ITV programme of the same name!From the reviews I read, it is supposed to be the best 'completion' of Jane Austen's fragment.It is very well written and the text moves seamlessly from Austen's work to the author's writing. The style of the prose is delightful and very Austen-like, it's witty and charming.I didn't find the character development quite as convincing however. It becomes almost too light in tone, some of the plot twists are a bit melodramatic and the main love story is not given much depth.Austen is a hard act to follow though, as she managed to combine wit with emotional depth and perfectly constructed plots. All in all, an enjoyable read.

Oh, I thought this was delightful, and I am a very big Austen fan. The only reason I gave it just four stars was because one character's machinations in getting certain people to walk and (later in a following chapter) ride together in particular groups, was described in a bit too much tedious detail. That and the fact that certain things toward the end were not indeed, developments I think Austen would have put in her books, or have had her characters done. Aside from that, it was a wonderfully intriguing and entertaining story that kept pulling me on in true Janian fashion, knowing that our heroine would surely get together with her hero, but intensely curious HOW it would all be arranged. And unlike some of the other reviewers, I found the flow of language and style to be quite Austen-like, even down to the witty kind of passages and dialogue in which what particular people say 'expose' them and their characters most delightfully...