Persuasion (Signature Editions)
Eight years ago, Anne Elliot followed the advice of Lady Russell, her only true friend, and broke off her engagement to the dashing young naval officer Frederick Wentworth. When Anne and the newly wealthy Captain Wentworth cross paths years later, it is clear that he has neither forgotten--nor forgiven--their past. Can true love survive heartbreak? Who should we listen to in matters of the heart? Filled with Jane Austen's trademark wit and social commentary, Persuasion is a delightful romance and a surprisingly subversive exploration of our need to persuade, and be persuaded by, others.
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Community Reviews
Persuasion is definitely my favorite of Austen's novels. Anne Elliot receives a proposal at 19 from the 23-year-old Wentworth, who still has some growing up to do himself. She's persuaded by Lady Russell, her late mother's friend and unofficial life coach and classist adult influence, to refuse him because he has neither fortune nor title. Anne turns him down despite loving him.
Fast forward eight years. Anne is now 27 and has apparently committed the terrible crime of having "lost her bloom,” and her father managed to do some of his own losing – the family fortune. This resulted in them renting their house out to the Crofts, and Wentworth suddenly reappears as Captain Wentworth, complete with naval success, money, and the sort of glow-up Regency novels love. He also happens to be Mrs. Croft's brother, because Austen never wastes a coincidence.
Anne is one of Austen's most complex characters and clearly someone who has grown emotionally. She's introverted but observant, level-headed, thoughtful, and much less persuadable than she was at 19. She's also far more self-aware. Austen touched on people who influence others in Pride and Prejudice and Emma, but here she fully explores persuasion itself and how people, relationships, and choices change with age and maturity.
But this book isn’t just about a hindered and rekindled romance between two people. As always, Jane Austen does what she does best: she expertly interweaves commentary about class rigidity, wealth, status, and social mobility.
Side note: among Austen's male protagonists, Captain Wentworth remains my favorite. He's emotionally mature, supportive, kind, and thoughtful. He spends half the novel pretending he's over Anne while being painfully obvious about it. And among all of Austen's declarations of love, his letter still wins by a mile.
I knew I was a romance novel fanatic when I read this ! The emotions and complexities you discover and experience in this book makes you feel with sublime intensity your heart wants to burst in the most beautiful profound sense. Characters you love to hate and a tender heroine you champion in every single page turning adventure.
Maybe it was the most melancholic Austen novel, as Virginia Woolf has mentioned occasionally. In my opinion, it is one of the most romantic ones, together with Pride and Prejudice. Enriquetta and Louisa seem to be quite similar to the two younger Bennet sisters.
I think Jane Austen shows here a more mature way of depiction, and is more direct toward the characters that have bad intentions.
The romantic story, through time, is interesting, because here we can see an old love story coming to life again thanks to a new encounter, which is lovely and different from other Austen novels.
The most of the secondary characters have "ugly personalities" in this novel, and I firmly believe that's all about Ana and Capt. Wentworth. The whole novel is a silent poem, between gaze and gaze. PS. Loved the references to Lord Byron and Sir Walter Scott!!!
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