I started reading Austen late in life, and am at the re-reading stage now. PERSUASION is not as dramatic as PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, or EMMA, or as memorable as the parody NORTHHANGER ABBEY. PERSUASION slowly unfolds the tale of ANNE ELIOTT, the unloved daughter of a vain and stupid father, who's ignored by him and her older sister, and used by her younger, married, hypochondriac sister. Eight years before the story begins, ANNE's friend Lady Russell persuades her to give up her love for Frederick Wentworth, then a young navy officer, because she thought he couldn't provide for Anne, and so discouraged them.
When the now wealthy Captain Wentworth returns to her village, she looks for any sign that he still cares for her. There are mistaken "attachments" and much unspoken longing until the pair reunite in the last few pages. The narrator reports Anne's thoughts and feelings in third person. This and the lack of dialogue slow the pace.
PERSUASION is not so much a love story as it is a social commentary. Poor but high ranking, haughty aristocrats, wealthy, low ranking gentry, houses, carriages, parties, happy marriages versus unhappy ones, all come under the Austen microscope. She paints her society with unerring detail. A very rewarding book.
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Must be an enjoyable read Persuasion by Jane Austen. loved the way you wrote it. I find your review very genuine and original, this book is going in by "to read" list.
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