In Jane Austen's literary legacy, there are quite a few gems that shine on her later genius. These amusing, short writings faithfully reflect that their author was keenly interested in the genre of the novel: he illustrated the plot, the usual characters, the style and the language. The characters are light-hearted, cheerful, naughty and devotedly fond of their own person.
The title Catharine, or the bower, is a defining milestone in Jane Austen's development as a writer, and a demanding attempt to write a serious novel. Frederic and Elfrida is really a "crash" course in the traditional novel genre and complicated etiquette. Jack and Alice presents a drunkard, Evelyn a gluttonous heroine, and Henry and Eliza turns the story of the usual novel hero on its head. The beautiful Cassandra is a parody of the sentimental novel, while the epistolary novel Amelia Webster is a mischievous caricature of the rivalry between sisters.
Through these stories and other short, often unfinished works, Austen shows how she feels about the ridiculous in life and in novels - and she does it all with great fun.