Product Description

At twenty-seven, Anne Elliot is no longer young and has few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she had been persuaded by her friend Lady Russell to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a handsome naval captain with neither fortune nor rank. What happens when they encounter each other again is movingly told in Jane Austen's last completed novel. Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, Persuasion is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, but, above all, it is a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #10944 in Books
• Published on: 2007-01-25
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 272 pages

About the Author
Jane Austen (1775-1817) was extremely modest about her own genius but has become one of English literature's most famous women writers. She is also the author of Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Persuasion, and Northanger Abbey.

Customer Reviews

A Jane Austen Masterpiece - My Favorite!
"Persuasion" is a great literary work and, to my mind, Jane Austen's finest book. This was her final completed novel before her death, and was published posthumously. As is often the case with Ms. Austen's fiction, "Persuasion" deals with the social issues of the time and paints a fascinating portrait of Regency England, especially when dealing with the class system. Rigid social barriers existed - and everyone wanted to marry "up" to a higher station - and, of course, into wealth. This is also a very poignant and passionate story of love, disappointment, loss and redemption. The point Austen makes here, is that one should not ever be persuaded to abandon core values and beliefs, especially for ignoble goals. There are consequences, always.

Sir Walter Elliot, Lord of Kellynch Hall, is an extravagant, self-aggrandizing snob, and a bit of a dandy to boot. He has been a widower for many years and spends money beyond his means to increase his social stature. His eldest daughter, upon whom he dotes, is as conceited and spoiled as he is. The youngest daughter, Anne, is an intelligent, sensitive, capable, and unassuming woman in her late twenties when the story opens. She had been quite pretty at one time, but life's disappointments have taken their toll and her looks are fading. She and her sister are both spinsters. Anne had once been very much in love with a young, and as yet untried, navel officer. A woman who had been a close friend to Anne's mother, persuaded Anne to "break the connection," convincing her that she could make a much better match. After much consideration, Anne did not follow her heart or her better instincts, and she and her young officer, Frederick Wentworth, separated. She has never again found the mutual love or companionship that she had with him. Anne's older sister never married either, because she hadn't found anyone good enough! She still hopes, however, for an earl or a viscount.

The Elliot family is forced to financially retrench because of their extravagance. They lease Kellynch Hall to...of all people...Wentworth's sister and her husband. Elliot, his oldest daughter and her companion, move to a smaller lodging in Bath for the season, leaving Anne to pack up their belongings before joining them. She gets the Cinderella treatment throughout the book. Anne decides to first visit with her middle sister, an abominably spoiled, whiny hypochondriac, Mrs. Musgrove. She has made a good, but not brilliant match to a local squire. Her husband, Charles Muskgrove, his parents, and their two younger, eligible daughters, Louisa and Henrietta, are delightful. They all tolerate Mrs. Muskgrove, barely, and adore Anne. It is at the Muskgrove estate that Anne meets Frederick Wentworth again, after his absence of seven years. He is in the neighborhood, because his sister is now in the area, residing at Kellynch, of course. Wentworth is now a Captain in the Royal Navy and quite wealthy. When their eyes meet for the first time, you can absolutely feel Anne's longing and remorse. He is aloof with Anne, although civil. The man was hurtfully rejected once before and it appears that he still feels her snub. Now Wentworth is on the marriage market and Louisa sets her cap for him. Accidents and various adventures ensue, from the resorts of Lyme and Bath to the Muskgrove estate, bringing Anne and Wentworth closer together. The passion between the two is so palpable, although very understated, (this is Regency England after all). I think this is Ms. Austen at her most passionate. Some scholars say that she modeled Anne Elliot after herself.

"Persuasion" is a remarkable novel and the issues it tackles are just as germane today as they were when the book was written. And the romance...well, no one does romance better than Jane Austen.
JANA

The evolution of Jane Austen's writing
I enjoyed Persuasion very much and found it a fascinating demonstration of the changes not only in Jane Austen's writing but also in the England she is describing. First, much of the flush of romance which you find in Pride and Prejudice has evolved into wiser and more mature notions of marriage and companionship. The importance of the character of the 'narrator' (i.e. Jane Austen herself) is so important in all of her novels - and here we see that the narrator has changed and grown older and values different things life and in people. Second, the picture of the England Jane Austen is describing in Persuasion is so different from her earlier novels. Readers of Pride and Prejudice will remember that Mr. Darcy - the romantic hero - is a very wealthy landowner, who has inherited his beautiful estate from his father. Mr. Darcy has the freedom to live a life of considerable leisure and we have only a very general impression of some vague 'business' activities. Captain Wentworth is a very different hero - he has had to make his own way in the world and to prove himself by his own hard work in the Navy. Unlike Sir Walter Elliot, who has a title and inherited land and wealth to commend him, Captain Wentworth represents the 'new' England of entreprise and individual endeavour, where we value what he DOES, not just what he IS. And it is he who wins Anne's hand. I think this is a very significant sign of a nation in transition - the changing attitudes and expectations of early 19th century early-industrial England. A wonderful book and a wonderful counterpoint to Pride and Prejudice. I loved it.

The best love letter I've ever read!
We had to read this for our final year exams, and let me tell you it was luxurious being able to read one of the two best Jane Austen books (alongside with "Pride and Prejudice") and still say that you were doing homework. While somewhat bleaker than "Pride and Prejudice", the characters are lovingly drawn, from the past lovers Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth to the biting satire used on Walter Elliot, Baronet. The love letter contained is not to be missed as it is one of the most eloquent parts of the novel, and you will definitely want to visit Bath after reading this book, and to "see the steps where..."!