Lady Susan, the Watsons, Sanditon (Penguin Books)

These three short works show Austen experimenting with a variety of different literary styles, from melodrama to satire, and exploring a range of social classes and settings. The early epistolary novel "Lady Susan" depicts an unscrupulous coquette, toying with the affections of several men. In contrast, "The Watsons" is a delightful fragment, whose spirited heroine - Emma - finds her marriage opportunities limited aby poverty and pride. Meanwhile "Sanditon", set in a seaside resort, offers a glorious cast of hypochondriacs and spectators, treated żeby Austen with both amusement and scepticism.