Persuasion

By Jane Austen

First published in 1818, Persuasion was Jane Austen's last work. Its mellow character and autumnal tone have long made it a favorite with Austen readers. Set in Somersetshire and Bath, the novel revolves around the lives and love affairs of Sir Walter Elliot, his daughters Elizabeth, Ann and Mary, and various in-laws, friends suitors and other characters. In Anne Elliot, the author created perhaps her sweetest, most appealing heroine.

At the center of the novel is Anne's thwarted romance with Captain Frederick Wentworth, a navy man Anne met and fell in love with when she was 19. At the time, Wentworth was deemed an unsuitable match and Anne was forced to break off the relationship. Eight years later, however, they meet again. By this time Captain Wentworth has made his fortune in the navy and is an attractive "catch." However, Anne is now uncertain about his feelings for her...

I, like so many other women, adore Jane Austen's works. Having never read Persuasion before, I was immediately struck with a deep attachment to this novel. Anne is all that is good and sweet, but often too passive in regards to her letting others persuade her into situations that she does not like. Captain Wentworth is a gentlemen and is greatly liked by all. In the characters of Anne's father and sisters, we find little to admire and much to find fault with, and therein lies the anguish for Anne; often overlooked and unloved. While very unlike the fiesty heroine Elizabeth Bennett, Anne Elliot is a tender figure and I found myself hoping that she would find happiness in the end, and knowing Jane Austen, I knew she would get it. I must say that I greatly enjoyed Persuasion and it went directly on my favorites shelf. This is only the third of Austen's novels I've read, and all three have been absolutely wonderful.