Persuasion: Jane Austen

This is the story of Anne Elliot, the middle child in a family of three girls; at the time of the book she is 27 years old. She lives with her father and her older sister; her mother died with she was young. Her younger sister is married with several children. The members of her family are pretty ghastly. Her father cares for none of his children except Elizabeth, the eldest, who is the prettiest but not a very nice person either. To them, our protagonist is "only Anne." Not to be considered, not to be consulted in decisions. The younger sister, Mary, is as selfish as the others, a hypochondriac, and given to flighty moods.

Anne is quite different from the rest of her family. She is sensible, intelligent, considerate, and willing to help out where needed. She cares for her family but she does clearly see their faults.

Her father has handled his money recklessly and his need to cut back causes them to have to let the family home to a well-to-do naval officer and his wife. As a result of this event, and related decisions, Anne comes back in contact Frederick Wentworth. At nineteen, she fell in love with Wentworth, and he with her, but Lady Russell, her friend and mentor, advised against their marriage and Anne gave in. Now Wentworth, a successful naval captain, has returned to England, but he continues to bear a grudge against Anne for giving into her family and rejecting him. This summary brings us about about a quarter into the book.

Had I read this book first or immediately after reading Pride and Prejudice, I probably would not have loved it so much. At this point I am more familiar with Austen's style of writing. Persuasion is shorter than most of her books and gets straight to the point (or as much as Jane Austen is likely to do). There is much less repetitiveness. It does point out society's shortcomings, but it does not belabor those elements. It was the last novel Austen wrote and was published after her death. Thus it is a more mature novel, and certainly Anne is a more mature protagonist.

Having read four other novels by Jane Austen this year, I feel more confident in being able to rank them. I have appreciated each one for its unique qualities, but at this point I would rank Pride and Prejudice and Persuasion at the top of the list, and Emma, Mansfield Park, and Northanger Abbey at the next level. I will be reading Sense and Sensibility in 2018.

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Publisher:   Book of the Month Club, 1996 (orig. pub. 1818)
Length:      227 pages
Format:      Trade paperback
Setting:      UK
Genre:        Literary fiction
Source:      I purchased my copy.