Persuasion

4.26 out of 5 (106 ratings)

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Format:: Paperback
Pages:: 288
Publisher:: Penguin Books Ltd
Publication Date:: 27 March 2003
Category:: Classics
ISBN:: 9780141439686

Description

Her last completed novel, marrying witty social realism to a 'Cinderella' love story, Jane Austen's "Persuasion" is edited with an introduction by Gillian Beer in "Penguin Classics". Anne Elliot, twenty-seven and still single, seems destined for spinsterhood. In her youth, she broke off an engagement to penniless Captain Wentworth at the insistence of her friend Lady Russell, acquiescing to the demands of her class at the expense of her happiness. But when Wentworth returns from the Napoleonic wars rich and famous, Anne finds her affection rekindled - even though Wentworth seems more interested in Anne's friend Louisa Musgrove. 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. In her introduction, Gillian Beer discusses Austen's portrayal of the double-edged nature of persuasion and the clash between old and new worlds. This edition also includes a new chronology and full textual notes. Jane Austen (1775-1817) was extremely modest about her own genius but has become one of English literature's most famous women writers. Austen began writing at a young age, embarking on what is possibly her best-known work, "Pride and Prejudice", at the age of 22. She was the author of "Sense and Sensibility", "Pride and Prejudice", "Emma", "Persuasion", "Mansfield Park" and "Northanger Abbey". If you liked "Persuasion", you may enjoy George Eliot's "Middlemarch", also available in "Penguin Classics". "The most perfect artist among women, the writer whose books are immortal". (Virginia Woolf).

Reader Reviews

Showing 1-4 out of 117 reviews. Previous | Next

My favorite, favorite Austen. It's more of a pure romance than her other books. The social satire is still there, in spades, but it takes a backseat to the glowing romance. And SUCH glowing romance it is, too.

5.00 out of 5

rachelellen
It's a bit presumptuous to rate Jane Austen on the same five point scale one uses for everyone else. But what can you do? At the risk of seeming low brow, I still prefer Pride and Prejudice and Emma. But I do not begrudge Anne Elliot her much delayed happiness.

5.00 out of 5

jasonfurman
Probably the most sober of all of Jane Austen's novels, Anne Elliot is on the road to being an old maid when the man she came close to marrying years back returns to her life. It can be painful at times as he is flirted with right in front of her, and she can't say anything as she was the one who rejected him in the first place. Of course, she was persuaded to do so, hence the title. Of all of Jane Austen's books, this was the one I stayed up all night to finish.

5.00 out of 5

ladygata
This is my favourite Austen book. Quiet, poignant and perfectly written, it has some of the best drawn characters I have ever read. Sir Walter, Elizabeth Elliot and Mary Musgrove are all deliciously aggravating, and Anne Elliot is a compelling heroine. It is perhaps more serious than Pride and Prejudice, and doesn't have the same kick as Emma, but don't let that put you off. It's had me laughing at Austen's seemingly flawless perception of human foibles and aching with sympathy for her heroine. It's also the most romantic of Austen's six novels, without ever becoming sappy.Am I gushing? Yes. But go read the book.

5.00 out of 5

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