The Watsons. Jane Austen's fragment continued and completed by John Coates

by Jane Austen, John Coates

THE WATSONS Jane Austen s fragment
CONTINUED AND COMPLETED BY JOHN COATES

In this continuation of Jane Austen's fragment, John Coates was presented with the beginning of a good story and a number of promising characters. There is a charming if rather correct heroine, Emily Watson, who returns to her family after a long absence to renew acquaintance with her ailing father and her three unmarried sisters; an awkward peer, who pays Emily marked attention, and his friend, a flirtatious bachelor; a highly eligible clergyman; and an almost unlimited quantity of officers from the local garrison. The chief characters meet at the first ball of the season in the town of Dunford in Surrey, and from this encounter develops a story which is rich and lively creation in its own right, not just an imitation of Jane Austen's other novels.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Romance, Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Classic Literature, Regency

314 pages, Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 1958

About the author

Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her deft use of social commentary, realism and biting irony have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.

The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), were a modest success but brought her little fame in her lifetime. She wrote two other novels—Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1817—and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. She also left behind three volumes of juvenile writings in manuscript, the short epistolary novel Lady Susan, and the unfinished novel The Watsons.
Since her death Austen's novels have rarely been out of print. A significant transition in her reputation occurred in 1833, when they were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series (illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering and sold as a set). They gradually gained wide acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience. Her work has inspired a large number of critical essays and has been included in many literary anthologies. Her novels have also inspired many films, including 1940's Pride and Prejudice, 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 2016's Love & Friendship.

Reviews

[Cyndi · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a good lesson for all writers...finish your story! Someday people will be salivating to know what happens next, and you won't be able to tell them.
I can just picture a young Jane reading over this story and thinking, "I don't know where to go with this story. I'll just set it aside and go back to it later."
Two hundred years later we're begging to know what happens next?! Does Emma find a Knightly or a Darcy? Does Lord Osbourne turn out to be a nice guy? What does the dastardly Tom Musgrave do?!
Even though it is impossible to know the answers I keep reading this anyway just to hear the words of Jane.

[Katie Lumsden · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great fragment. I wish Jane Austen had finished this one!

[Jason Koivu]

An unfinished work, but still it's not bad. The plot is probably what's in need of work the most. Regardless, this is still a pleasure to read for its Austen-esque style. You can see all the set pieces in place and her usual characters are taking shape. I enjoyed just letting the words flow over me as she created her scenes. Beautiful stuff.

[Dann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish this was finished! I feel like it would have become one of Austen’s top, well-known novels because the family dynamics at play here were going to be as epic as the ones in Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion.

I liked Emma Watson’s character so much (plus, I loved her name!). She is intelligent yet doesn’t try to boast about it or anything. And she doesn’t just follow the common opinion of people around her about men, doesn’t get interested in them just because they’ve got thousands of pounds to their name. Instead, she makes up her own mind about them after meeting them and getting to have conversations with them, which I thought was really cool, especially in contrast to her sisters and some other Austen heroines.

I wish Austen hadn’t abandoned this—I feel like I would have loved it.

[Kateryna Krotova · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wasn’t impressed by it.. Maybe be a this novel was abandoned by Jane Austen. It really feels like it is not complete!
Although beginning was quite interesting it is really a shame..
the story is about Mr. Watson, who is a widowed gentleman, a clergyman with two sons and four daughters.. The youngest daughter is a heroine of the story, her name is Emma.. And there is a sweet relationship between Emma and her 10 years older sister, Elizabeth. And there are two other sisters: Penelope (who actually ruined relationships between Elizabeth and the person who she was in love) and Margaret. What they are only interested is a husband-hunting.. Really selfish ladies!!
This is a story of beautiful time, time of balls..

[for-much-deliberation ... · Rating 4 out of 5]

When you think of Jane Austen you think great novels like 'Pride and Prejudice', 'Sense and Sensibility', 'Northanger Abbey', 'Mansfield Park'.... But there are other works by Jane that aren't that popular and one of them is 'The Watsons', actually adding to the unpopularity is the fact that the tale is unfinished.

The Watsons tells the tale of Emma Watson, the youngest daughter of a clergyman who has actually been raised by her wealthy aunt. When her aunt decides to re-marry she has to go back to her father's house and her siblings. Due to her refined upbringing her thoughts and manners differ much but she must adjust to the arrangements...

[itsdanixx · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wonder why Jane Austen decided not to finish this book? It had the makings, seemingly, of a good, classic Austen novel. I can’t guarantee that the plot or characters wouldn’t have gotten tedious had it continued into a long book, but as a fragment it was enjoyable and Emma was likeable.

[alex]

if jane didnt finish this book, then its okay for me not to, right?

[Ivy-Mabel Fling · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having reread (or being in the process of rereading) all the other Jane Austen novels, I think this one was a good one to put aside. Although it makes a pleasant read, as do all Austen's novels, it does not seem to introduce anything new or particularly striking. If you are looking for an agreeable way to pass a couple of hours, this is fine but if you would prefer something slightly different, you might do better to read 'Sanditon' or 'Lady Susan', the latter being rather surprising coming from the pen of a vicar's daughter (or maybe not?!)

[Paulina Macías · Rating 3 out of 5]

Razones para no empezar un libro y dejarlo inconcluso:
1. te puedes morir y alguien, siglos después, va a quedar enganchada, con muchas preguntas
2. tus editorxs pueden creer que es buena idea cerrar todos los plots en 2 oraciones

[Cassandra Dexter Colby · Rating 3 out of 5]

Realmente es un fragmento de algo que pudo ser una novela muy Austen. Se puede vislumbrar el estilo y la creación de personajes, así como las típicas relaciones amorosas entre ellos.

[Sophia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was happy to score a copy of this John Coates finished version to Jane Austen's The Watsons and I was eager to delve between the pages to see how he did at melding Austen's tone of writing and fragment of a plot with his own writing.

This is not my first encounter with a completion story for The Watsons. In fact, I've purposefully searched out each one I could find in print or electronic version so I've noticed certain familiar patterns emerged as to how this story will finish making me curious to see how this author would go. I was well and truly pleased to see some fun alterations that worked well with the chapters Jane Austen did give us.

Coates pretty much let the Austen chapters stand with a few trivial changes like making 'Emma' become 'Emily'. He took the time introducing the newly come down in the world, Emily to her early childhood neighborhood and her estranged family. Emily was the youngest of six siblings was adopted by her wealthier Aunt and Uncle Turner who were childless. She lived apart from her Watson family for fourteen years with little contact or interest. Then her uncle passed, her aunt remarried, and the new husband and her aunt shunted Emily unceremoniously back onto her family. Emily has been brought up finer than her siblings so struggles to descend from being Miss Watson of Eversleigh with wealthy prospects to being the fourth of the Miss Watsons at poky little Stanton vicarage and no prospects beyond her pretty face and manners.

The reader meets the cast of characters along with Emily. First, the current residents of Stanton- her oldest sister, warmhearted and hardworking Elizabeth and her gentle, depressed father. Her other two sisters are away visiting and her brothers have left home to pursue separate careers- Robert is a moderately successful solicitor who married his mentor's daughter and took over the legal office there in Croyden and Sam is still apprenticing with a physician in Guildford.
Elizabeth happily sends Emily off to Dunford to go to the local monthly assembly under the aegis of the helpful Edwards' family where Emily gets to know the Edwards and several neighbor personages like the lordly Osbornes, rakish Mr. Musgrave, the military contingent, and the genteel Howards. Emily has a good time and at the same time makes a favorable impression on all who meet her. Suddenly, the obscure Watsons are getting visits and being noticed. Emily thinks nothing of these social doings since she's used to such notice. What gets her attention is her boisterous sisters coming home in the peevish Margaret and flagrant, but joyful Penelope. Robert and Jane's visit is tolerated as they attempt to lord over their siblings only to find out Emily has attracted Lord Osborne's attention, no less. Secretly, Emily is pining for the attentions of a very quiet gentleman who is reserved around her. Slowly, Emily adjusts to her new life and gets to know her family even as schemes come into play and hearts are engaged in the business of life and marriage.

I thought it was a fun surprise what the author did with Penelope's character and the choice to bring Emily's aunt back into play after a time. I was very taken with the variety in the Watsons and the family life that was the central part of the story. Each sister was so different and each got her own romance of sorts. Even dear Sam got in on his fair share in the end.
I had to laugh when I read the author's end note. He said he didn't want his Emily to become like Fanny Price- and, this was funny to me because I actually like Fanny Price and I found this Emily to be rather priggish and very free with her little sermons about propriety and manners to everyone around her. Fortunately, she learns to loosen up a little under the liveliness of Penelope, the salt of the earth understanding of Elizabeth, and also the lessons learned as she lived life a bit less sheltered than before. She congratulates herself on falling for who she considers a superior sort of man, but, in truth, he turned out to have the average amount of flaws as the next man.

All in all, it was engaging and I appreciated how the author worked to match tone and tale, made solid choices for the characters and storyline, and ultimately wrote a compelling completion tale.

[Miloš Lazarević]

Ni ovo delo nije završeno i ne deluje mi da bi bilo nešto revolucionarno i da je uspela da ga dovrši. Naravno, uvek ostaje prostor za subverzivnu sumnju ( :D ), ali pored skoro 80 strana čiste dosade, ne vidim šta bi u nastavku mogla da ponudi, a da promeni moj utisak.

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought that this book was good

[BAM doesn’t answer to her real name · Rating 3 out of 5]

Awkward beginning
I wish she could have finished it

[Sara Jesus · Rating 3 out of 5]

Um pequeno conto que centra-se na figura de Emma Watson que costuma ir aos bailes dos senhores Osbornes. E tem um cavalheiro chamado Tom que começa se interessar por ele. Mas ela gosta de Howard, personagem conhecemos apenas por seus lábios nunca aparece no conto.
O final é um pouco confuso, ele está de novo na casa dos grandes senhores onde a historia começa. Não sabemos se fica ou não com o Tom, o final não é muito directo.

[Bettie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Opening: The first winter assembly in the town of D. in Surrey was to be held on Tuesday, October 13th and it was generally expected to be a very good one. A long list of county families was confidently run over as sure of attending, and sanguine hopes were entertained that the Osbornes themselves would be there. The Edwards' invitation to the Watsons followed, of course. The Edwards were people of fortune, who lived in the town and kept their coach. The Watsons inhabited a village about three miles distant, were poor, and had no close carriage; and ever since there had been balls in the place, the former were accustomed to invite the latter to dress, dine, and sleep at their house on every monthly return throughout the winter. On the present occasion, as only two of Mr. Watson's children were at home, and one was always necessary as companion to himself, for he was sickly and had lost his wife, one only could profit by the kindness of their friends. Miss Emma Watson, who was very recently returned to her family from the care of an aunt who had brought her up, was to make her first public appearance in the neighbourhood, and her eldest sister, whose delight in a ball was not lessened by a ten years' enjoyment, had some merit in cheerfully undertaking to drive her and all her finery in the old chair to D. on the important morning.

D must be Dorking, no!?

Read for free: http://www.pemberley.com/janeinfo/wat...

Wiki source: Mr. Watson is a widowed clergyman with two sons and four daughters. The youngest daughter, Emma, has been brought up by a wealthy aunt and is consequently better educated and more refined than her sisters. But when her aunt contracts a foolish second marriage, Emma is obliged to return to her father's house. There she is chagrined by the crude and reckless husband-hunting of two of her twenty-something sisters. She finds the kindness of her eldest and most responsible sister, Elizabeth, more attractive.

Living near the Watsons are the Osbornes, a great titled family. Emma attracts some notice from the boorish and awkward young Lord Osborne, while one of her sisters plaintively pursues Lord Osborne's arrogant, social-climbing friend, Tom Musgrave. Various minor characters provide potential matches for Emma's brothers and sisters.

Mr. Watson is seriously ill in the opening chapters, and Austen confided in her sister Cassandra that he was to die in the course of the work. Emma was to decline a marriage proposal from Lord Osborne, and was eventually to marry Osborne's virtuous former tutor, Mr. Howard.

**Joan Aiken adapted and completed the novel as Emma Watson: The Watsons Completed, in 1996.**

[Abigail Bok · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I first read this novel, about 1977, I was severe on it—too frivolous, the plot too manufactured. On rereading it now, with many other Austenesque and Heyer novels under my belt, I have become more lenient.

The Watsons is one of two novels left unfinished by Jane Austen, this one started and abandoned at the midpoint of her career. There have been many attempts to complete it, and of the ones I have read this is undoubtedly the best. Its completer, John Coates, has succeeded pretty well in capturing her tone, and he has a deep enough knowledge of the history and culture of her day to produce a lot of interesting dialogue.

Coates has taken the characters from the fragment in some unexpected directions, with mixed success. I love his Penelope, though she pretty much takes over the novel, leaving the heroine a pale shadow. She also forces the heroine’s sister Elizabeth into caricature status. Several of the other characters are also too broadly and shallowly drawn, reduced to a few oft-repeated quirks. As is the case in Austen’s fragment, the hero never fully comes into focus, making for a fairly uneven story. And he packs into the novel more engagements than is perhaps plausible.

Nevertheless, Coates has thought deeply and mostly to good effect about this baffling partial story. Those who regret that Austen wrote so few novels may find a measure of satisfaction here.

[Cynda · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars.
Only part of a Novel. So far too much telling and not enough showing. I know in the same period when Austen wrote this story--She stopped working on it in 1803--that novel told (rather than show) much more. I am trusting that Austen would have done more showing. Austen did some lovely showing in her completed novels, so I trust that she would have fixed parts of this novel fragment.

Otherwise.....
We do see a more elegant sister reminds me of Jane Fairfax. The more relaxed sister reminds me of Jane Bennet. The desireable naughty beau reminds me of John Willoughby. The sick father reminds me of Mr Woodhouse. So this novel continues to work out the same character issues. Recognizably Austen's work.

[Anne (In Search of Wonder) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love anything Austen- related, so I knew I had to read this book. I may or may not have read the fragment Austen herself wrote when I was frantically searching for all of Austen's works 15-20 years ago. But this is definitely the first time I read this novel, which attempts to finish the story Austen started.

📔As the title suggests, this book relates the story of The Watson family, in particular, the four daughters who, at the beginning of the story, are more or less "on the shelf" and destined for a life of genteel poverty. We also catch some glimpses of their two brothers and their father.

📔There is speculation as to why Austen never finished this book, but it must have been on her mind throughout her life, because there are many characters and plot elements that she utilized in later books. The first one that comes to mind is the father in the story, who is perpetually unwell and doesn't stir from his home. And then there's the sister who manipulates her husband by constantly pretending to be unwell also.

📔I feel like the author who finished the story, John Coates, was trying very carefully to stay within Austen's framework while still trying to write the story the way he saw it. I'm not sure that it one hundred percent worked, but we can't all be Austen. The one new character he added to the story was kind of a mix of Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bates, and I'm not really sure that worked with a character who was supposed to be sympathetic. Also, some plot elements felt really thin to me, and the way the two love interests of Emily (our main character, who Austen originally had named Emma) were portrayed... I honestly didn't understand why she went with the one she did. 🤷‍♀️ It was apparently Austen's intention, but it didn't fully come across as the right choice in this book.

📔Coates did a pretty good job mimicking Austen's prose. The dialogue to a lesser extent, but still very well done. He maintained the witty aspect of her writing as well, which made it a fun read to the end.

[Julian Worker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jane Austen wrote this book between the writing of Northanger Abbey and the revision of Sense and Sensibility. She abandoned the book in 1805 after the death of her father. Jane and her mother moved to Southampton and then on to Chawton in Hampshire in 1809.

The Watsons was not published until 1870 as part of James Edward Austen-Leigh's A Memoir of Jane Austen.

This is the story of Emma Watson the youngest daughter of a widowed clergyman. Emma is brought up by a wealthy aunt. The aunt remarries and Emma has to return to her father's house and be reunited with her siblings, in particular her sisters who have been trying to attract husbands without much success. Once Emma becomes the centre of attention for local families, then family rivalries begin...

[Alisha · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ok... this didn't end quite the way I expected. The "hero" was left very vaguely defined and neither the reader nor the heroine get to spend enough time with him. Unfortunate.
The rival suitor gets a fine ending, but you spend so much time with him that you really want him to be the main deal, not shoved aside at the last minute as a peripheral character.

HOWEVER, this gets 4 stars from me because it is so exceptionally rare to find a decent Austen continuation or sequel.

The Watsons is a fragment, and this author does a very passable job of matching the language. I mean, you occasionally remember this isn't actually Austen, but it's definitely in the ballpark.

There's something about the fact that this continuation was written in the 1950s... and another decent Austen sequel was written in the 1910s... there's still a gap between them and Austen's world, but it's measurably narrower than anybody writing in the year 2016. From my perspective it makes their writing just a bit more believable when they aspire to Austen.

[Nancy · Rating 3 out of 5]

You can tell that this was definitely an early work and you can see certain themes that were used in Austen's later novels. She refined these themes in her later works. It was a quick and easy read.

[Iza Brekilien · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reviewed for Books and livres

3.5 stars (rounded up to 4 for Goodreads) may not seem much, but it's pretty good for an unfinished novel. Sadly, Jane Austen died before she could complete it... And I'm really sad about it, no kidding, because I really, really enjoyed the beginning and would have loved to read it entirely ! Well, I wasn't entirely left hanging, because Jane's brother recounted how it would turn out, but still, too bad...

[Brandy · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another incomplete work by JA. I have been working my way through these because I’m a fan of ALL things JA, but it does rather break my heart that she left incomplete manuscripts behind when she passed. She was such a talent, and I would have loved much more of her in this world! But alas, it was not to be. Therefore, I’ll enjoy these tastes for what they are and use my imagination to picture the ending.

I know there are novels in which others have completed this story and I plan to read one when I come across someone who can write in her style and with her eloquence. She was a caliber of her own! 💜💜

[Laura]

Free online available at Pemberley.com

[Lelyana's Reviews · Rating 3 out of 5]

Review soon

[Gabriela Czechowicz-Zielonka · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ciężko jest ocenić nieukończoną książkę, jednak zapowiadała się świetnie i miała wszelkie podstawy by stać się kolejnym hitem Austen.

[Maria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I swear if Jane Austen had done her final editing, this could have been one of her greatest works!

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Watsons is an abandoned novel of about 17,500 words written in Austen's largely "silent" period after Sense and Sensibility and Price and Prejudice but before Mansfield Park and Emma and Persuasion. The protagonist in this novel, Emma Watson, is very likable. Like Fanny Price, she's someone who was raised away from her birth family by a rich relation--except she had expectations of being an heiress, which were disappointed by her rich aunt marrying again, throwing her back to her original family. Her family is respected enough to be able to mix with the best families, including a Lord interested in Emma, and comfortable enough to have a servant, but in the circles they run around in are considered "poor." Only nineteen, Emma has a lot more confidence than Fanny Price, and a lot less snobbishness than her namesake Emma Woodhouse. She endeared herself to me when she goes to the rescue of a ten-year-old boy stood up at a dance. I'm only sorry there wasn't more, and we had to leave Emma soon after a ball parting from her brother and his wife. I'm sure that if Jane Austen had been able to complete this novel, I'd be rating it five or four stars as an equal to Pride and Prejudice or Emma. As it is, as an uncompleted novel, this is for hardcore Jane Austen fans only. I guess you can count me as among them.