Thanks for linking the text of Mary Brunton's "Self Control", Myretta. Having read the first three chapters, I don't think JA needed to worry about the competition - it was a struggle to read as far as I did.

The themes of "Self Control" have obvious overlaps with S&S (innocent young girl and Vile Seducer), and MP (heroine who is pious and good). But what a contrast between Brunton's approach and JA's! To cut a long rant short, I'd say that "Self Control" features cardboard cut-out characters, and a great deal of "telling" rather "showing". Above all I detected no hint of irony in the narrator's voice, and no flicker of humour.

In short, those three chapters of "Self Control" were a clear demonstration of why JA's work has endured, and Mary Brunton's has not.