Lady Susan is a novella, written in epistolary form. Austen would abandon this method of writing in her later novels, favoring instead traditional novel form and a prominently-voiced narrator.
Forerunners to the psychological novel or thriller, epistolary novels offer unique opportunities for characterization. Formally, novellas and novels like Lady Susan offer the perspective of only one character at a time. Many authors—Austen herself included—utilize this limited perspective style as a scaffolding upon which to build suspense or introduce irony. Austen takes advantage of the peculiarities of epistolary form and genre in Lady Susan, building psychological tension as a horror film might, albeit with differing tone and purpose. Instead of attempting to frighten her readers, Austen aims to entertain and satirize, gradually drawing forth the foibles and idiosyncrasies of her characters.
The epistolary genre is particularly suited to Austen's satirical subject: regency society. During this time period, strict codes of social conduct prevented people from speaking their mind publicly on certain matters. However, as Lady Susan reveals—made possible in part by its epistolary nature—people did not adhere to these strict standards of conduct in all aspects of their personal lives, speaking freely in confidence with one another through written correspondence.
