Austen Reads: Sanditon by Jane Austen

I have been remiss in my normal blog features. Blame the sickness or my consumption with writing my novel or doing edits on my friends novel, but whatever it is I need to focus. Welcome back my blogs Austen Reads feature.

Sanditon is our featured recommended read of the week. Sanditon is one of Jane Austen’s two unfinished novels, the other being The Watsons. Jane Austen was working on Sanditon before she passed away and left us with only a 12 chapter fragment.

Had she been able to finish this novel we would have had a whole new reason to love and adore Austen. As it is, the fragment we are able to read is delightful and leaves you begging for more. The cast of characters, even in the short unfinished forms are hilarious. They are hypochondriacs in a seaside resort which is to be the up-and-coming Bath.

Despite being unfinished there have thankfully been two brave authors who have taken up the task to finish Austen’s novel. The results are satisfying finished to Austen’s Sanditon and we can only imagine where Austen would have taken this novel.





Sanditon by Jane Austen and Another Lady

Formats: Paperback: 320 pages

Publisher: Touchstone (October 6, 1998)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 9780684843421

ISBN-13: 978-0684843421

ASIN: 0684843420


Out of print for more than 20 years, this novel--an 11-chapter fragment at Austen's death completed with seamless artistry by an Austen aficionado and novelist--is a wonderful addition to Austen's beloved books.










  Sanditon: Jane Austen's Unfinished Masterpiece Completed by Jane Austen and Juilette Shapiro
Formats: Paperback: 194 pages and Kindle


Publisher: Ulysses Press (March 1, 2009)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 156975621X

ISBN-13: 978-1569756218

 
 
 
 
Had Jane Austen lived to complete Sanditon, it would have been as treasured as her other novels. In the half-finished masterpiece, Austen fashions one of her classic heroines—Charlotte Heywood. The surviving fragment also sets the story well on its path as Charlotte begins an adventure to Sanditon where a full cast of characters becomes intertwined in various intrigues.



At first, Charlotte finds amusement enough standing at her ample Venetian window looking over the placid seafront. However, before long, Charlotte discovers that scandals abound. She becomes captivated by the romance of the seaside lifestyle. But is the town of Sanditon truly a haven and will Charlotte find happiness there?

Now, fully completed by respected author and Austen expert Juliette Shapiro, this new edition of Sanditon finishes the original story in a vivid style recognizable to any fan. Shapiro’s prose and plot twists stay true to Austen’s sensibilities at all times while capturing her romance, tragedy, humor and sardonic wit.