(Plovdiv University Press, 2025-05-16) Dimitrova, Kristin; Димитрова, Кристин
This article investigates one of Jane Austen's early children's works – “The Beautiful Cassandra”. The purpose of this paper is to study the influence that the novel “Sentimental Travels in France and Italy” by English writer Laurence Sterne had on the young Jane Austen. Utilising a comparative approach, parallels and discrepancies between the two novels become evident. This paper also highlights both these similarities and differences, with a focus on identifying “The Beautiful Cassandra”’s unique elements. This article outlines the relationship between both books, highlighting that “The Beautiful Cassandra” could also be seen as a parody of Laurence Stern’s novel. The remarkable approach and style of the young writer and her use of different genre spectrums in a novel of 4 pages are also briefly analysed. The report also dives into the suspected purpose of Austen’s book – it is personally dedicated to the writer's sister in order to entertain and humour her.