Summary

Lady Susan, a recent widow, writes to her former brother-in-law, Mr. Vernon, to inform him she will be visiting his estate in Churchill. Her letter is glowing and she tells him she's long overdue to meet her nieces and nephews. She tells him her daughter will not be joining because she's in private school after the toll her father's death took on her. In a separate letter to a friend, Mrs. Johnson, Lady Susan reveals herself to be a schemer and hypocrite who actually loathes the idea of visiting her former brother-in-law, only doing so because she's run out of money. Her current living situation has no longer become tenable after getting into some kind of trouble with her current hosts, Mr. and Mrs. Manwaring. She writes, “Were there another place in England open to me, I would prefer it. Charles Vernon is...