Synopsis
Jane Austen's last and most melancholy novel was published posthumously in 1818. In PERSUASION, Austen creates a strong, mature, and independent heroine, Anne Elliot. Having foolishly broken off an engagement eight years earlier to Frederick Wentworth, a penniless naval officer, Anne at the age of 27 has remained unmarried--and secretly devoted to Wentworth. Living with her vain, self-absorbed, and (of course) ridiculous father, Anne is sinking gently into a resigned spinsterhood when Wentworth, who has gained wealth and a name for himself, comes back into her life. Set in 1814 and 1815, PERSUASION was written in 1816, when Jane Austen was already ill; perhaps her decline left its mark on the novel. PERSUASION, however, while more serious in tone than Austen's other works--and, interestingly, more attuned to landscape and the beauties of nature--retains her gift for satire and her sometimes mordant wit.
| Details | | Publication Date: | 1997-04-24 | | Series: | Dover Thrift Editions Series |
| Size | | Height: | 8.5 in | | Width: | 5.0 in | | Thickness: | 0.8 in | | Weight: | 5.6 oz |
Publisher's Note
Austen's last novel is the crowning achievement of her matchless career. Her heroine, Anne Elliot, a woman of integrity, breeding and great depth of emotion, stands in stark contrast to the brutality and hypocrisy of Regency England. Includes a new Introduction by Margaret Drabble, famed novelist and editor of The Oxford Companion to the English Language.
Industry Reviews
"Deepens and confuses our apprehension of Jane Austen. The earlier books set such store by fine manners that it's alarming to find her not merely loosening her respect for them but hinting that they are popularly used as cover for emotional atrocities."
Anthony Lane (09/25/1995)
"Unlike any of Austen's other novels, 'Persuasion' has a borrowed plot. It is an obvious version of the Cinderella story. Anne has two sisters, both of whom are mean to her...Her father...has no appreciation of Anne's goodness, talents, and sensibilities. The family uses Anne as a servant. And Captain Wentworth will be her Prince Charming. There is no evil stepmother in this Cinderella story, but Lady Russell is the obvious candidate. Austen's prose lifts this Cinderella plot..to the level of important literature."
Boston Review - Alan A. Stone
"Even as a little girl, my favorite was, as it still is, 'Persuasion', the tale of a lonely, intelligent spinster of 27 who has been induced to give up her engagement to the man she loves. Her tale has a desperate, quiet intensity....It still moves me, when the more romantic heroines of my youth...have come to seem a little absurd."
Washington Post Book World - A. S. Byatt (02/07/1999)
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