‘Lady Susan’ is an early complete epistolary novel that was never submitted for publication by Jane Austen. It was possibly written in 1794 but not published until 1871.
The protagonist of the novel, Lady Susan, a widow about 35 or 36 years old, subverts all standards of the typical romantic heroine : she is selfish and unscrupulous, though highly attractive to men; she is significantly older than her suitors and she seeks a wealthy husband for her daughter and an even better match for herself – while maintaining a relationship with a married man…