Persuasion by Jane Austen ISBN: 9780141439686
Published by Penguin on April 29, 2003
Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance
Pages: 288
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Jane Austen's last completed novel, marrying witty social realism to a Cinderella love story
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.
For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.
Although this book started very slow, it did pick up in plot pace and maintained a moderate pace through most of the narrative. The final six chapters gallop, comparatively, with so many revelations and changes and events in Anne’s inner life that it pulls the reader along to finish the book quickly at that point. As a 27 year old, Anne is a refreshing heroine in her lack of naivety and new experiences. She’s not jaded, but she’s fully aware and quietly patient with the ridiculous persons around her. Unlike Emma, she does not judge those people solely on their negative traits, but attempts to maintain a placid, positive, though realistic view of the world and her place in it. While not my favorite Austen character, she’s certainly one to aspire to, for her emotional intelligence!
Because this is a second chance romance, not a new romance, it touches on themes of wounded pride in love, pragmatism over romantic leanings, and analysis over supposition. I loved how clear-headed and observant Anne was about love- she allows herself to be flattered by the attention of another, but she doesn’t correspond flattery to depth of feeling- a lovely and refreshing change from most modern romance perspectives!
Overall, I can see why this is many people’s favorite Austen novel, and I’m glad I read it. Aside from the difficult pace, it was lovely!
Read for the Wide World of HistFic Reading Challenge and Book-to-Movie Reading Challenge.
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