To round out 2022, we're reading The Younger Sister, a completion of Austen's The Watsons written by her niece, Catherine Hubback.

If you're reading ahead, please note there's a TW for a couple lines of dialogue near the end of volume 3, chapter 17. More info in the announcement post. Feel free to send a modmail if you have questions.

You can read about the author on wikipedia.

For quick reference, here's a link to Austen's original fragment of The Watsons.

Look out for discussion of volume 2 in two weeks, on November 30th.

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I've taken a page from r/bookclub and provided a summary of each chapter, and will post discussion prompts in the comments. Let's discuss volume 1 below!

Ch 1: Our protagonist, Emma, is the youngest daughter of Reverend John Watson of Winston, who after being widowed, fell into a depression that he never climbed out of. Emma had been sent to live with her wealthy uncle and aunt, but after the death of her uncle, and her aunt’s scandalously quick remarriage, she returns to her father’s home.

Upon arriving in Winston, she is invited to her first ball by the wealthy Edwards family. In preparation, Emma is introduced to local society through a conversation with her eldest sister, Elizabeth.

Elizabeth warns Emma of Tom Musgrove, of independent property and the local rake, whose most recent target has been their absent sister, Margaret. She claims to have never been in love with him, unlike every other girl in town, because she was previously engaged to a man named Purvis. However, the engagement was spoiled by their other absent sister, Penelope.

Emma declares she would never marry for money; Elizabeth has a far more practical PoV (to put it in P&P terms: Emma is Elizabeth Bennet and Elizabeth Watson is Charlotte Lucas).

Also, the girls’ brother Sam, an assistant to a country doctor, is in love with the Edwards’ only daughter, Mary. Mrs. Edwards is obviously not on board with Sam, and acts chilly towards Emma, while Mr. Edwards seems to enjoy needling his wife on this point.

On their way in to the assembly rooms, the party runs into Mr. Tom Musgrove.

Ch 2: Emma and the Edwards have arrived very early to the assembly.

The start of the ball is delayed for the Osborne Castle party. Tom Musgrove has waited to enter the room to appear a part of the Osborne party. He is friends with Lord Osborne, “a plain young man”, who openly stares at Emma.

Miss Osborne had agreed to dance the first dance with her 6-year-old guest, Charles Willis, who is heartbroken when she tells him she must actually dance with some Colonel. So Emma dances with him.

After dancing with the child, Emma agrees to dance with his uncle, Mr. Howard, the local clergyman under the patronage of the Osborne family. She overhears Lord Osborne telling Musgrove to dance with Emma so that he can continue to ogle her. Musgrove asks Emma to dance and she has the pleasure of turning him down.

The Osbornes move to leave, after what is maybe an hour and a half. Lord Osborne briefly returns to the room to creep on Emma one last time.

Once back at the Edwards’ home, Mrs. Edwards observes: "I am sure [Lord Osborne] looked at you enough," continued Mrs. Edwards; "I thought he was going to eat you.”

Ch 3: Sunday morning after the ball, the Edwards home. A heavy knock on the door is Mr. Tom Musgrove, who is icily received by the ladies of the house. He carries a note from Elizabeth saying she will not be able to pick up Emma.

Musgrove offers his services - Emma would prefer to walk. He continues to pressure her. Mrs. Edwards steps in and offers her carriage. Upon Emma’s return home, Elizabeth is shocked to hear that she declined both of Tom Musgrove’s advances.

The next day, Lord Osborne and Tom Musgrove barge in, just as Elizabeth and Emma are preparing for dinner. Osborne attempts a conversation with Emma and invites her to “see the hounds throw off”* on Saturday (the text says Monday, this is a mistake). She declines.

After the two men finally leave, the sisters argue about manners: "I do not care for admiration without respect, Elizabeth, and I hope the visit will not be repeated.”

(\I believe this is a party to watch the start of a hunt.*)

Ch 4: It’s Christmas week, and the eldest Watson brother, Robert, is visiting with his socially impressive wife, Jane. They bring Margaret Watson, one of the absent sisters Emma has never met. In their first conversation, Robert makes Emma cry via a speech in which he calls her “a useless burden”. He’s bitter to have received nothing from his uncle’s will.

The family is relaxing after dinner when Tom Musgrove once again appears. The conversation centers around what is fashionable and what is not.

Elizabeth invites Musgrove to join them for dinner the following evening, even though they will eat at the very unfashionable 5p. Tom accepts but says he will not eat.

Despite warning Emma of Tom Musgrove at the opening of the novel, Elizabeth does not understand why Emma does not like him.

Ch 5: The next morning, Emma avoids her siblings by attending to her father, whose company she finds she enjoys.

Later, Mr. Musgrove is too fashionable to appear on time, delaying everyone else’s dinner. The evening is boring and Emma dislikes all of her company.

Emma regrets how unlikable she finds her family, now that she knows them:

All her life she had wished for fraternal affection; much as she had loved her uncle and aunt, she had always wished to know and love her brothers and sisters[…]she was now acquainted with five members of her family; but of these how little there was to attach, in the three last met, she hardly liked to own even to herself. Robert was surly; Jane conceited, Margaret fretful—and all seemed self-occupied. She tried to check these thoughts, she was shocked at her own wickedness in conceiving such things[...]

Ch 6: Saturday morning: Robert and Jane leave, and Emma joins Margaret for a walk. They encounter Tom Musgrove with Lord Osborne and Mr. Howard, on their way to the hunt. Emma realizes this was Margaret’s design and is horribly embarrassed, particularly of what Mr. Howard might think. Margaret is sour because Tom will not stop to talk with her since he’s with Lord Osborne.

But! Margaret has no idea how much Osborne likes to stare at her sister. In fact, he jumps off his horse to address her. Musgrove de-horses as well, but Mr. Howard remains stiffly mounted, acknowledging Emma only with a formal bow. Osborne wants Emma to join their party so he can introduce her to his sister; Emma questions the propriety of such an introduction under the circumstances.

Emma tells Margaret it is time to return home; Margaret agrees because Musgrove is ignoring her. Emma is now able to voice that they had no intention of seeing the hounds throw off.

On their way home, the path is blocked by an aggressive dog. Mr. Howard gallops in to their defense and offers to escort the ladies home; he does not hunt and had only joined his friends for the ride. He asks if his sister, Mrs. Willis - mother of young Charles, Emma’s former dance partner - may call on her. Emma agrees.

Ch 7: Back at the Watson home, Margaret wonders at how Emma has caught the attention of Lord Osborne. Elizabeth points out that Emma is both good-natured and pretty. Margaret pooh-poohs good nature, calling it luck.

Emma explains that an acquaintance with Mrs. Willis is more appropriate than one with Miss Osborne:

"Mr. Howard and his sister are in our rank of life, though their intimacy at the castle gives them artificial consequence. There would be no condescension on their part, and no obligation incurred by me, which a return visit would not fairly pay.”

On Monday, Mrs. Willis pays her visit to Emma, along with Mr. Howard and young Charles. Mr. Watson is feeling well and joins them.

Tom Musgrove shows up, again, of course. He discusses gout with Mr. Watson:

"Aye sir, I dare say I shall have my turn by-and-bye, I expect to have it early—Osborne tells me his father had it at five-and-twenty. It's an aristocratic complaint."

"Unless you have reason to suppose the late Lord Osborne was your father likewise," resumed Mr. Watson drily, "I don't see what either his gout or his aristocracy have to do with you."

Musgrove teases Mr. Howard about the age of his carriage - Mr. Watson hits him with a zinger, reminding Musgrove that his grandfather had been a rag-merchant who traveled by donkey. Bruised, Musgrove quietly teases Mr. Howard again, this time for competing with Lord Osborne for Emma’s affections.

Musgrove attempts conversation with Emma, who turns her attention to Charles Willis. For once, Musgrove gets the hint and leaves:

Tom took himself off, and as the sound of his curricle wheels died away in the distance, Mr. Watson observed:

"There goes a young man, who if he had had to work for his bread might have been a useful member of society. But unfortunately the father made a fortune, so the son can only make a fool of himself."

Ch 8: The next day; Emma and Elizabeth must return Mrs. Willis’s visit tomorrow, Wednesday, for Mr. Watson cannot spare the horse the rest of the week.

The day of the visit is cold, the sky full of ominous clouds; by the time they reach the parsonage, located within the grounds of Osborne Castle, it has begun to snow heavily.

Emma is struck by how comfortable and tidy the parsonage is: “The useful and the ornamental were happily blended, and Emma looked with great pleasure round her.”

The weather has turned into a full snow storm, and their visit extends into dinner and an overnight invitation. Elizabeth is shocked when she learns her hosts dine at her accustomed, unfashionably early time.

Lady Osborne sends Mr. Howard a note inviting him to join them for cards that evening, and a lot of ink is spilled in regards to the Lady O’s own sloppy and excessive spilling of ink (this passage must pay off at some point - right?)

Mrs. Willis bemoans the demands on Mr. Howard’s time by Lady Osborne - TBH it’s a bit radical!:

"She always means kindly to herself, I dare say, and thinks she means so to us—but she is no judge of our comfort, and fancies because our rank is different, we have a different set of feelings likewise—”

The next morning, Thursday, Lord Osborne pops in for a visit so he can stare at Emma. Charles and Mr. Howard - who is teaching the 6-year-old Latin and Greek - have finished their lessons early so they can visit with the young ladies. But Mr. Howard is “in despair” at the attention Lord Osborne is giving Emma and leaves the room.

At noon they’re joined by Miss Osborne (my assumption is that her father was and her brother now is a Baron but tbh I can't fully make sense of the titles and property ownership here), who invites them all to dine at the castle that evening. She leaves and, to the relief of Emma, takes her brother with her.

Break to earlier between Miss Osborne and her friend, Miss Carr who are spilling tea.

Miss Osborne has detected Mr. Howard’s partiality towards Emma Watson. She knows her mother, Lady Osborne, is partial to Mr. Howard and Miss Osborne is committed to making sure that does not happen:

"...the Watsons have always been considered as very low in rank amongst visitable people. The few we know ourselves decidedly hold them cheaply—and I think it possible that, accustomed to superior society, Mr. Howard might hesitate a moment before throwing himself amongst a set so decidedly inferior to those with whom he is used to mix.”

Ch 9: The parsonage party travels to Osborne Castle. Lady Osborne is dripping in jewels and fashionably dressed. Elizabeth feels ashamed at her “dingy” state compared to the Lady and Miss Carr.

Back at Mr. Howard’s they discuss what they desire to be happy. Emma says:

"To be with those I love, and have money in my purse—I think that is sufficient: no—I think I should like a house too[…]But preserve me from the slavery of living en grande dame; I was not brought up to it—and nothing but habit could make such bonds sit light and gracefully."

Alone, Elizabeth and Emma discuss Lord Osborne and Mr. Howard. Elizabeth observes how the Lady Osborne flirts with Mr. Howard.

Privately, Emma is confused by Mr. Howard’s hot and cold behavior. She realizes that she prefers him and his sister to anyone else she’s met since returning to her father’s home.

Ch 10: The next morning, more snow has fallen and the Miss Watsons must remain another day.

Lady Osborne invites Emma and Mr. Howard to lunch so they can tour a picture gallery Emma had expressed interest in seeing. Mr. Howard agrees to escort Emma after hearing she hopes to avoid Lord Osborne.

Miss Osborne insists Mr. Howard give Emma tour of the picture gallery - she soon remembers another engagement and leaves them together. The pair discuss Emma’s upbringing, her family, Tom Musgrove, and her distaste for flattery and the flatterer.

Emma notices it is almost dusk, and they start to leave, when Lord Osborne enters. He escorts them back to the parsonage. Emma does what she can to hurry the walk.

Elizabeth teases Emma about who she has been flirting with - the Parson or the Peer. They joke of Elizabeth being Lady Osborne and Emma being Mrs. Howard, before joining the hosts for dinner and enjoying a pleasant, cozy evening.

Ch 11: Saturday morning, carriage wheels approach the parsonage. It brings a note from Mr. Watson, who insists they return home; he has hired a post carriage to bring them via the high road, which while a longer route, is clear enough for travel.

Mrs. Willis bundles the Miss Watsons with layers of cloaks and shawls, and Mr. Howard promises to retrieve them when the lanes are again passable.

The voyage is uneventful. Mr. Watson is delighted at their return. Margaret is “almost dead of stupidity of dullness” and is angrily jealous when she learns of her sisters’ adventures at Osborne Castle.

Days pass, the snow melts, and Emma wonders when Mr. Howard will appear. She compares the comfort of the parsonage with the untidiness of her own home:

“The grandeur of Osborne Castle had none of the charms in her eyes which Mrs. Willis' little parlour presented, and she came to the conclusion that the happiest thing in the world must be to preside over such an establishment with such a companion.”

Tom Musgrove shows up, of course. He claims to have been at the castle on Thursday, the day of their dinner with Lady Osborne. Annoyed by him, Emma escapes to the garden, just in time to see Mr. Howard approach. He brings an invitation to a concert and ball at Osborne Castle for all the Miss Watsons, plus a longer stay for Emma.

Mr. Howard wishes to visit with Mr. Watson, and Mr. Watson insists Emma stay with them. The visit is enjoyable for all and Mr. Watson asks Mr. Howard to come again.

Tom Musgrove has left and Elizabeth and Margaret are delighted about the concert and ball. But Margaret has a fit when she learns that only Emma has been invited for a longer stay, making Emma cry. Elizabeth comforts her:

"I dare say you think me very foolish," replied Emma, wiping her eyes, "but I have never been used to be crossly spoken to, and it quite upsets me."

"No, I don't think you foolish, Emma; you are only much too good and tender for this situation. I shall be glad when you are married and safe with Mr. Howard, and nobody to scold you or make you spoil your beauty by crying."