Persuasion - Jane Austen

Date Started: 9/12/11
Date Finished: 9/17/11

One-Word Summary: Austen-y

I remember reading Pride and Prejudice in high school and thinking it was SO difficult to get through. Fast forward a decade (and a few more years) and I can't get enough Jane Austen. And I find it incredibly easy to read - what was my deal in high school? While that may never be known at long last I finally read the last of her classics, Persuasion (written in 1816, the year before she died).

Our main character in this book is Anne Elliot and her story of love is this: she was previously engaged to a man she loved, Frederick Wentworth, but was persuaded (get it?!) to end the engagement on the advice of her father and sister Elizabeth, and her deceased mother's friend, Lady Russell. She did so, and it broke her heart. Seven years later, Anne again encounters the now Captain Wentworth and in typical Austen fashion, a long story leading to a lovely conclusion ensues. Of course there are pitfalls along the way (Captain Wentworth appears to have feelings for Louisa Musgrove until Louisa becomes engaged to Captain Benwick; Mr. William Elliot, the seemingly charming, good-looking man interested in Anne) but as it always does, it works out in the end.

I will say this: I found Persuasion to be different from the other Austen novels that I've read in that it seems more jumpy somehow, like the narration skips from focus to focus. It was also interesting that Anne, our protagonist, is so universally ignored by her father and Elizabeth. Thinking back on Austen's other characters, I think Anne may be the worst off, family-wise. Fortunately it all ends well for her.

It's a classic - what can you really say? As with the rest of Jane Austen's novels, I loved it.