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When she was young and beautiful Anne Elliot fell in love with a dashing, but poor naval officer. Her family considered him beneath her and persuaded her to break off the match. Eight years later, when the novel begins, Anne is well past the bloom of her youth. Until Wentworth, now a celebrated captain, returns to the area to court her young neighour. Anne begins to slowly bloom a second time, though she hardly dares hope that he will return to her.
The last of Austen's novels, Persuasion is also considered her most thoughtful, philosophical work.
Shuffy2: In addition to North and South by Gaskell, Wives and Daughters is another great read for people who love Austen's Persusion and Sense and Sensibility!
allisongryski: This is by no means an obvious recommendation. However, the quality of writing and something of the heroines' characters is similar. The heroines of these two books are both under-appreciated members of their families, who are thought beyond any chance of marriage. They are both forced by circumstance to find courage that they didn't know they possessed and they are rewarded with eventual happiness.… (more)
mzackin: This is the story of persuasion told from the other side. It is very well written and stays true to the story, even quoting lines from Austen.
spygirl: Helen Fielding's first novel Bridget Jones's Diary was a remake of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a remake of Austen's Persuasion.
Ever a delight to be in company of Jane Austen, her capable storytelling, sparkling conversation, and original female protagonists. Anne Elliot may be my favorite of all with her steady wisdom, good sense, and patience in the midst of so many unappreciative family members.
For this return to a familiar title, hearing Rosamond Pike read the classic aloud made for a special treat. In times of so much uncertainty, I indulge in this escape as I walk, garden, fold laundry, drive. No doubt another Austen title will follow this listen. ( )
Persuasion was the final ‘completed’ novel by Jane Austen, with the first draft finished in July of 1816. It is also the only existing intact, complete manuscript of Austen’s, including the original 'cancelled chapters' which she later revised.
Is Persuasion a romance, a novel of manners, or a statement about social constraints faced by the fairer sex during the Regency era? After reading a chapter per day during the month of July, I have come to the conclusion Persuasion is all of the above. The protagonist Anne is a relatable character being calm and rational on the outside, while experiencing a lot of inner turmoil. I haven’t decided yet if this is one of my favorite novels by Austen but I certainly enjoyed reading it.
A fun fact: Assuming I did my math correctly, the words persuasion(s) and persuade(d) are mentioned 29 times within the text of the Kindle version on Project Gutenberg. (This does not include the title page, end credits, etc.)
“I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men."
"Perhaps I shall. Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything.” ― Jane Austen, Persuasion
people say this is austen's most mature story and yeah it's so full of understanding but at the same time a bit sanctimonious. sorry besties! maybe I need to think about it a bit more ( )
Read this right after having read Emma, so getting to have the point of view of a character more mature and perceptive was really nice. Wentworth is a fun love interest, and this book has my favorite confession scene/ending out of all of Jane Austen's work. Really strong writing, and the amount of loveable characters more than made-up for the "villains". ( )
Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch-hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs, changed naturally into pity and contempt.
On 8 August 1815, English newspapers took note of the departure for Saint Helena of HMS Northumberland and, with it, a prisoner. (Introduction)
Quotations
She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older: the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.
Anne hoped she had outlived the age of blushing; but the age of emotion she certainly had not
I hate to hear you talking so like a fine gentleman, and as if women were all fine ladies, instead of rational creatures. We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days
A man does not recover from such a devotion of the heart to such a woman! He ought not; he does not.
You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own than when you almost broke it, eight and a half years ago. Dare not say that a man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you. Unjust I may have been, weak and resentful I have been, but never inconstant.
Last words
She gloried in being a sailor's wife, but she must pay the tax of quick alarm for belonging to that profession which is, if possible, more distinguished in its domestic virtues than in its national importance.
When she was young and beautiful Anne Elliot fell in love with a dashing, but poor naval officer. Her family considered him beneath her and persuaded her to break off the match. Eight years later, when the novel begins, Anne is well past the bloom of her youth. Until Wentworth, now a celebrated captain, returns to the area to court her young neighour. Anne begins to slowly bloom a second time, though she hardly dares hope that he will return to her.
The last of Austen's novels, Persuasion is also considered her most thoughtful, philosophical work.
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Book description
Anne Elliott, bullied or ignored by her father and sisters, relinquished her hopes of love when she was forced to reject Captain Wentworth. Now, years later, they meet again: he, prosperous and eligible, scarcely recognises the faded pretty woman. And she stays quietly in the background as he courts the lively and affectionate Louisa Musgrove. So why, when she joins her family in Bath, does Anne hesitate over the eminently suitable addresses paid to her by a distant cousin? And why does Captian Wentworth appear there too? While Jane Austen is here as quick as ever to ridicule self-importance, self-interest and cold-heartedness, while she tellingly contrasts the icy snobbery of the Elliots with the openness and warmth of Wentworth's naval friends, this novel has a tenderness and gravity which makes it unique among her works.
Anne Elliot, beauté fanée et effacée de vingt-sept ans, est la seconde fille de Sir Walter Elliot, un baronnet veuf et vaniteux. Sa mère, une femme intelligente, est morte quatorze ans auparavant, en 180027 ; sa sœur aînée, Elizabeth, tient de son père la vanité de sa position. Sa plus jeune sœur, Mary, encline à se plaindre sans cesse, a épousé Charles Musgrove de Uppercross Hall, l'héritier d'un riche propriétaire des environs. Encore célibataire, sans personne dans son entourage qui soit digne de son esprit raffiné, Anne est en passe de devenir une vieille fille sans avenir ...Persuasion est le dernier roman de la romancière anglaise Jane Austen, publié posthumément en décembre 1817 mais daté de 1818. En France, il a paru pour la première fois en 1821 sous le titre : La Famille Elliot, ou L'ancienne inclination1.Le roman est regroupé en un volume double avec Northanger Abbey, le premier des grands romans de Jane Austen, écrit en 1803 mais resté non publié jusque-là. D'un ton plus grave que les œuvres précédentes de la romancière, il raconte les retrouvailles d'Anne Elliot avec Frederick Wentworth, dont elle a repoussé la demande en mariage huit ans auparavant, persuadée par son amie Lady Russell des risques de cette union avec un jeune officier de marine en début de carrière, pauvre et à l'avenir incertain. Mais alors que la guerre avec la France s'achève, le capitaine Wentworth revient, fortune faite, avec le désir de se marier pour fonder un foyer. Il a conservé du refus d'Anne Elliot la conviction que la jeune fille manquait de caractère et se laissait trop aisément persuader.Outre le thème de la persuasion, le roman évoque d'autres sujets, tels que la Royal Navy, dont l'importance ici rappelle que deux des frères de Jane Austen y servaient, pour parvenir plus tard au rang d'amiral. Comme dans Northanger Abbey, la vie mondaine et superficielle de Bath – bien connue de Jane Austen – est longuement dépeinte, et sert d'arrière-plan à tout le second volume. Enfin, Persuasion marque une nette rupture avec les ouvrages précédents, par la chaleureuse attitude des personnages positifs qu'il met en scène, en fort contraste avec les héros souvent ternes, hautains ou peu cordiaux rencontrés auparavant, et dont le Mr Darcy de Orgueil et Préjugés est l'exemple extrême.L'Edition 2020 comprend ;- biographie de l'auteure
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For this return to a familiar title, hearing Rosamond Pike read the classic aloud made for a special treat. In times of so much uncertainty, I indulge in this escape as I walk, garden, fold laundry, drive. No doubt another Austen title will follow this listen. (