Sir Edward’s great object in life was to be seductive. — With such personal advantages as he knew himself to possess, and such talents as he did also give himself credit for, he regarded it as his duty. — He felt that he was formed to be a dangerous man — quite in the line of the Lovelaces. — The very name of Sir Edward he thought, carried some degree of fascination with it. — To be generally gallant and assiduous about the fair, to make fine speeches to every pretty girl, was but the inferior part of the character he had to play.
(from Sanditon in Lady Susan, The Watsons, and Sanditon, page 191)
Jane Austen was writing Sanditon when she fell ill, beginning the manuscript on January 17, 1817, ending chapter 12 on March 18, 1817, and dying on July 18, 1817, at the age of 41 without having finished it. It’s sad that we’ll never know Austen’s plans for her characters, an eccentric bunch that I found very amusing.
Sanditon opens with a carriage accident. Mr. Thomas Parker, intent on finding a doctor for Sanditon — the fishing village he hopes to turn into a bustling seaside resort — has driven the carriage on an impassible road. And come to find out, he and his wife are in the wrong Willingden — the Willingden without a doctor. The Parkers are taken in by the Heywoods so Mr. Parker can recover from a twisted ankle, and the new friendship prompts the Parkers to take the young Charlotte Heywood — the likely heroine of the novel — to see the progress being made in Sanditon.
In Sanditon, Charlotte meets a host of entertaining people, including Lady Denham, a twice married woman (the first time for money, the second time for a title) reminiscent of Lady Catherine in Pride and Prejudice and Thomas Parker’s partner in developing Sanditon; Sir Edward Denham, who rambles on about poetry and novels and views himself as a seducer of women; Diana, Susan, and Arthur Parker, Thomas’ hypochondriac siblings; and Sydney Parker, Thomas’ fashionable younger brother who probably would have emerged as the hero. Austen was brilliant when it came to providing humorous social commentary. In this novel, she juxtaposes characters who favor the old way with characters who favor development and showcases hypochondriacs alongside those whose health actually is poor enough to benefit from the seaside air.
Sanditon had the potential to be a great novel. Charlotte could have been as wise and strong a heroine as Elizabeth Bennett in Pride and Prejudice. Sydney Parker hardly makes an appearance, so who knows whether he would have given Mr. Darcy a run for his money. Some of the characters were so exaggerated and ridiculous (Sir Edward and Diana, in particular) that I nearly laughed out loud, and to be honest, when I got to the end of chapter 12 and the book ended abruptly, I was sad. I’d grown attached to these characters in just a handful of pages, and the story hadn’t been developed enough for me to guess how things might have played out. I’m glad I knew in advance that the novel was unfinished, and I’m not sorry I read it. In fact, I think it is a worthwhile read for any Austen fan.
Disclosure: Sanditon is from my personal library.
© 2010 Anna Horner of Diary of an Eccentric. All Rights Reserved. Please do not reproduce or republish content without permission.
I don’t think I could go into this one knowing it would just stop like that. Kudos to you for giving it a go.
LikeLike
I don’t think I can pick this one up knowing it wasn’t finished.
LikeLike
Thanks for the shoutout to my event By the Seaside with Sanditon Anna – your participation and all your great comments!
After having read Sanditon and felt the pang of regret that the novel did not finish – I am reading the coninuation by Another Lady. It was written in 1975 and has received the post praise.
Thanks again, LA
LikeLike
I wonder why no one thought of finishing it.
But I am in awe that u actually read this book which has an abrupt ending 🙂
LikeLike
so you have no theories about the ending??
LikeLike
I read the version of this book that was finished by “another lady” and really enjoyed it! I was surprised to like it as much as I did. I read it years ago, but if you liked this start to the story, you might like that ending to the book, too.
LikeLike
I read that finished version and that didn’t have the feel of real Austen to me, that is some of the choices they made
LikeLike
Very interesting! Consider my curiosity piqued!
LikeLike
I can’t believe I call myself an Austen fan and had no idea that this one even existed! I’m debating whether or not I want to pick it up though, since I won’t be able to see how everything turns out.
LikeLike
Thanks to all of you who stopped by and left a comment!
bermudaonion & Ti: think I really want to say at some point that I’ve read all of Jane Austen’s work. LOL It didn’t make it less depressing knowing beforehand that it would end abruptly, but I’m still glad I read it.
Laurel Ann: I’ll have to get the continuation. I want some sort of ending, whether from Jane Austen or “Another Lady.”
Veens: As Laurel Ann mentions there is a continuation by “Another Lady.” I hope to get my hands on a copy at some point.
Serena: It really ends too soon to have any kind of theories. I think I can guess that Charlotte probably would have ended up with Sydney, but that’s about it.
Aarti: Glad to hear you enjoyed it. I hope to read it myself at some point.
Blodeuedd: Hmm… Well, nobody can be as great as Austen LOL.
Andi: Maybe you should give it a try…
Dana: Don’t feel bad! I only learned of her minor works when I was at the book store looking to buy the rest of the Austen books I don’t own!
LikeLike
[…] The Plight of the Darcy Brothers by Marsha Altman Mr. Darcy’s Great Escape by Marsha Altman Sanditon by Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice and Zombies: Dawn of the Dreadfuls by Steve Hockensmith Mr. […]
LikeLike
I’ve thought about reading this, but I’m not sure I can read an unfinished novel. It sounds so amazingly frustrating. Good for you for doing it though! It sounds like you enjoyed it.
LikeLike
It was frustrating, but strangely, it was worthwhile as well.
LikeLike
[…] Sanditon by Jane […]
LikeLike
[…] by Allan Zullo and Mara Bovsun 20. The Bubble by Brian D. McClure, illustrated by Buddy Plumlee 21. Sanditon by Jane Austen 22. Venetia Kelly’s Traveling Show by Frank Delaney 23. Fireworks Over Toccoa […]
LikeLike
[…] that are no longer in vogue. I admit that this book would have come in handy when I read Sanditon and was curious about bathing machines; thankfully, there are a lot of great online resources for […]
LikeLike
[…] Northanger Abbey Lady Susan The Watsons Sanditon Love and […]
LikeLike
[…] and Prejudice Persuasion Northanger Abbey Lady Susan The Watsons Sanditon Love and […]
LikeLike
[…] me discover the world of the Austenesque novel. Without Laurel Ann, I never would have read Sanditon, and with her help, I tracked down all of Austen’s juvenilia in a single volume, so I am […]
LikeLike
I haven’t read any of the continuations, but I’ve read Sanditon several times. It is such a delight! Yes, the ending is abrupt, and yes, you are driven quite mad wondering how Jane Austen intended the novel to play out, but all suffering is worth it, a thousand times over. The characters! Several are so utterly vivid and funny, namely Lady Denham, Susan Parker and Arthur Parker. Charlotte Heywood was building up to be an absolute wonderful heroine who shared Elizabeth Bennett’s hobby of dissecting character. And Sidney Parker, who must have been Jane Austen’s intended hero, was to be her first hero with a droll sense of humor. Sidney had barely made an appearance before the novel’s end, but we had gotten little pieces of him and his ways from his brother, Thomas Parker, of the family with whom Charlotte was staying in Sanditon. What a joy that would have been to read. We loved Jane Austen’s rendition of a heroine with a saucy wit (Elizabeth Bennett), what would it have been like to read her rendition of a hero with wit?
LikeLike
I still haven’t read a continuation of Sanditon, but I still remember how much I enjoyed the characters, even if we never get to experience them to their fullest. Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
[…] Northanger Abbey, Mansfield Park, and Sense and Sensibility) and even two she didn’t finish (Sanditon and The Watsons). He also touches on the works of other authors from the period, Regency social […]
LikeLike
[…] blog. Also, for more on Sanditon, there are some delightful articles here and here and here. […]
LikeLike
[…] authors and authors whose work I’ve enjoyed in the past. I also was impressed that Sanditon was included; Austen’s unfinished novel about a seaside resort begs to be included in a […]
LikeLike