Book Review: Persuasion

Friday Spines Book Review Number 9:

Persuasion, by Jane Austen

(This is a link to my edition, which also contains Northanger Abbey. All other links to Persuasion lead to editions only containing that book.)

Persuasion is one of Jane Austen's more overlooked works; Pride and Prejudice is everywhere, Sense and Sensibility familiar, and Emma fairly well-known. (Random note: Pride and Prejudice has over 500,000 ratings on Goodreads compared to Persuasion's 73,000.) I only read it because I studied it in a literature class a few years ago. My advice, especially to those new to the slightly intimidating Austen, is to watch the movie first. There are several versions: my favorite, second favorite, and least favorite-it's a miniseries. (Above three links are to the IMDB.) Once you know the story and images of the characters in your head, it's easier to follow Austen's narration--witty, charming, and biting by turn.

Persuasion is the story of Anne Elliot and Frederick Wentworth, who were nearly married seven years before the beginning of the book. Deeply in love with the then-poor and untitled sailor, 20-year-old Anne let her surrogate mother Lady Russell and her vain father and sisters persuade her against the match. 

Anne, who is still unmarried, still regrets it seven years later, when Mr. Wentworth comes back to town with money, prestige, and the title of captain. Among the usual drama and betrayal upper-class English society, the two fall in love all over again, in spite of Lady Russell (and Anne's) infatuation with a wealthy, handsome, and smooth-talking cousin. A happy ending is insured, along with quite a bit of delightfully shocking gossip and impropriety.

The story is appropriate for anyone who can understand Jane Austen's paragraph-long and parenthesis-filled sentences. I recommend it for ages 13 and up: Younger readers may become frustrated with the language, and swear off Austen for eternity. Even if you're an adult who's never had the courage to pick up one of her books, go watch the movie, and pick an edition of the book with no footnotes and big text. Illustrations are also a plus.

Other things I like about this book:

• Austen, famous for her language, lives up to any praise you can give her writing. It's hilarious in many places, and so eloquent and sharp that it's almost tangible. Her character descriptions are especially enjoyable.
• This is a love story that opens with a mistake. The climax is not the breaking-off of a marriage, and it doesn't end tragically, complete with a weeping heroine. Adults may especially appreciate Anne's predicament, and the chance she (along with the reader) gets to change her mind about her youthful decisions. 
• The subplots are as intriguing as Anne's own story, without taking away from it. Her self-centered sister Elizabeth and Elizabeth's companion add lightheartedness and scandal to the heart-searching novel, and Anne's sister-in-law enjoys a flirtation with Captain Wentworth that proves disastrous. 
• Jane Austen adeptly includes letters from Anne's friends and family, enriching the story instead of muddling or drawing it out as so many other authors do.

You might also like: Jane Eyre, by Charlotte Bronte; the Jane Austen Handbook, by Margaret C. Sullivan; and other books by Jane Austen.

All links lead to Goodreads unless otherwise noted. 

See you on Friday, when I'll be reviewing The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen.

Happy reading; see you then!

M. Gabrielle