This one wasn't too memorable, but I was in love with the wording.
Three stars for style, and it wasn't terrible ever either. ( )

Este libro recoge una buena muestra de lo que escribió la primera Jane Austen. Estas diez obras de juventud —de adolescencia deberíamos decir— cabe situarlas cuando Jane Austen tenía entre 12 y 18 años; son obras realmente muy tempranas junto a otras algo más evolucionadas, y revisadas con el criterio de una escritora que podía ya considerarse una novelista en ciernes. Estos pequeños textos satíricos jamás fueron publicados en vida de la autora, y fue menester esperar hasta 1922 para que un editor se decidiera a publicarlos. Entre ellos se encuentran cinco textos rigurosamente inéditos en español como son Frederic y Elfrida, Mister Harley, Sir William Montague, Amelia Webster y La visita.

This is actually a collection of three early and unfinished works of Jane Austen. Lesley Castle is a wonderfully satirical novels in letters, A History of England somewhat defies description, and Catherine is the start of a novel in the style of her later works. I completely enjoyed all three and wish there was the rest of Catherine and Lesley Castle to read somewhere,

'you will stop and ask 'how did a teenager do this?'', 6 Mar. 2012
By
sally tarbox

This review is from: Lesley Castle (Hesperus Classics) (Paperback)
Having read all Jane Austen's main works over the years, I have only just discovered this piece of juvenilia, written when she was 16. It lacks the subtlety and polish we see later on, but the style and subject matter are classic Austen, and it's fascinating to read her first attempts.

Lesley Castle is an epistolary novel initially featuring a correspondence between two young friends. While Margaret lives in Scotland awaiting news of whether her roue of a father has remarried in London, her friend Charlotte is excessively occupied with things culinary. Her sister's fiance has been critically injured just prior to the nuptials for which Charlotte had just prepared the food. She recounts how she comforts her distraught sister: 'Perhaps I may suffer most from it, after all, for I shall not only be obliged to eat up all the victuals I have dressed already, but must, if Henry should recover (which, however, is not very likely) dress as much for you again; or should he die (as I suppose he will) I shall still have to prepare a dinner for you whenever you marry anyone else.' The comic callousness put me much in mind of 'Lady Susan', another of Austen's works. As the author introduces letters from other characters, the work becomes somewhat 'shapeless' and remains unfinished.

A History of England (Henry IV-Charles I) is wonderfully illustrated by the author's sister (all the royals dressed in the fashions of late 18th century!) It's interesting to see Austen's viewpoint on Elizabeth I; whereas she is normally seen as a Good Thing after the excesses of her sister 'Bloody Mary', Austen concludes her section on Mary 'and then...the destroyer of all comfort, the deceitful betrayer of trust reposed in her, and the murdress of her cousin succeeded to the throne.'

In Catharine or The Bower, we have a (short, unfinished) attempt at a novel full of Austen's later themes; a young man courting the protagonist, a ball, witty conversation plus a couple of convincing characters. There's the ill-educated and shallow Camilla who shows her knowledge of geography:
'I intend...to stop at Matlock or Scarborough.'
'You intend then to go into Yorkshire?'
'I believe not'.
And secondly Catharine's prudish aunt: 'Mrs Percival who was sitting on the other side of her and now began to distinguish the words 'love' and 'handsome man' turned hastily towards them and said 'what are you talking of, Catharine?''

Very enjoyable read. ( )

A fascinating look at mid-19th-century culture in Britain, around the time of Elizabeth Bennett. Letters back and forth between two women about boys and gossip and other little dramas. ( )