Customer Reviews
Love's Barriers Delightfully Probed in Polite Conversation - By: Donald Mitchell, 22 Feb 2008 
Persuasion is Jane Austen's most sophisticated story & writing. She lovingly & incisively demonstrates the problems of being a well-bred sensitive person in a society that's more intrigued by social standing, money, & polite conversation than by good character.
Persuasion is Anne Elliot's story. The title's initial alllusion is to Anne's brush with matrimony when a promising, but not rich, naval officer, Captain Wentworth, proposed & she fell in love with him at 19. But Anne's deceased mother's friend, Lady Russell, persuaded Anne not to make the match. Up until the time of the story, Anne hasn't had another suitor & she's now well past the usual age of marriage at 29 & "her bloom had vanish early." Her father's spendthrift ways mean that Anne could bring little money to a marriage so she's expecting not to marry.
While in her social class that lack of a husband is a drawback, in reality her family is a greater problem. Her father, Sir Walter Elliot, is a baronet who spends too much money, is obsessed by social rank, loves to be around the "beautiful people" & admire himself in a mirror, & keeps company with an unsuitable, scheming widow, Mrs. Clay, who is looking for a husband & has latched onto Elizabeth as friend. Anne's older sister, Elizabeth, is also unmarried & is as equallly obsessed with social status as their father. Both Sir Walter & Elizabeth fail to value Anne & looked to her to suit their conveniences. The other daughter, Mary, is married but the connection doesn't thrill either Sir Walter or Elizabeth. Mary sees Anne as a virtual servant who should wait on her every beck & calll when Anne is her guest.
Due to Sir Walter's over spending of his income, it is decided he will rent the family estate, Kellynch Halll, while he, Elizabeth, & Anne take up less expensive quarters & a reduced social life in Bath. This change sets lots of new events into motion, not the least of which is Anne being re-introduced to Captain Wentworth who now has a fortune & seems to be looking for a lively, young wife. Only their common commitment to being polite makes time in one another's company tolerable. What strong emotions burn under the surface? She's very embarrassed, but Captain Wentworth is hard to read.
In the course of the book, you'll find out a lot about social climbing in Regency England, the finances of the social elites & those who were up-and-coming, how marriage agreements were struck, & how the naval officers differed from the gentry. You'll also be impressed, I'm sure, by the patina of politeness that served as a social lubricant among people who often didn't care a trifle for one another.
In such a society, people mostly wore masks of being thoughtful, considerate people while in reality they were seldom thinking about very much & didn't care much for others. Anne Elliot is the exception in that her heart & mind are actuallly devoted to the service of others.
One of the most interesting parts of the story is how it was possible (mostly by accident) to sort out the phonies from among those with glittering manners.
Anne Elliot is one of the most memorable & admirable characters in English literature. Do read this book & find out about the other kinds of persuasion that took place during this year of her fictional life. You'll be delighted that you did.
An autumnal romance - By: Peter Reeve, 11 Nov 2007 Persuasion, Austen's final completed novel, is set in 1814, an interlude in the long Napoleonic wars. The men are home from the campaigns, with fortunes made & loves lost. It is a time for healing & renewal, while time alllows. Austen herself was in deteriorating health & did not have long to live. For her characters too, there is a sense of time running out.
In fact, although it is completed, there are signs that Austen would have reworked or further developed some of it, had she lived. A major character (the one who did the initial persuading) is never fully realized, other characters are similarly neglected toward the end, & the novel is relatively short.
Persuasion does not have the depth of characterization of Pride & Prejudice, or quite the passion. It also lacks the cynical edge that is found in much of her work. The prose never reaches the sublime heights that she achieves elsewhere, but it is always very fine nonetheless. This makes for a slighter, more comfortable read, & a promise that, only love faithfully, & autumn must somehow pass into summer.
There are references in the novel which will be obscure to most of today's readers (for example, "the inimitable Miss Larolles") & an edition with notes would be a good idea, if you can find one. The Signet Classic edition has no notes, but has quite a good introduction by Margaret Drabble, although it summarizes the plot, so read it after the novel, not before.
pure austen classic - By: Jasmine, 23 Jul 2007 This is my favourite of alll of Austen's books & one of my alll time favourite books ever. I have been reading Austen since i was about 13 & am now nearly 19 & love them alll more now than i have before. I don't think any of the TV or film adaptations do this story justice, they are always reallly different to the actual storyline. I think this classic is highly under-rated & i think it would be brilliant if the BBC did an adaptation of this story the way they did for Pride & Prejudice years ago- they followed the book to the letter with that one. I can't rate this book enough. I think it has such a wide appeal. Even Wentworth Miller (star of Prison Break) is named after the lead character in this book! If you like classics & you like Jane Austen (especiallly romances) you will love this!
Predicable but atleast its short. - By: Vicci, 20 Jul 2007 
I have to admit that this was my first foray into Jane Austen's writing besides the onsluaght of films that are constantly being re-done & re-broadcast on the television.
I bought Persuasion because it was a story I hadn't heard before & so thought it would prove more interesting. This wasn't the case. The story follows Anne the middle sister from a middle class family. She is a perfectly pleasant, polite & self-less woman now in her late 20's. Personallly I'm not enthrawled with a main character just being pleasant & nothing else ALL the time with EVERYONE on EVERY page. There was no excitement. Perhaps exciting events or people are not the point of reading Jane Austen, the characters & language are supposed to make up for this? For me they didn't.
If you know & like Jane Austen novels then you probably wont be disappointed. However I had to propose a different point of view to the other reviewers that are effusively praising this mild mannered read. I wasn't bored but I wasn't gripped either which for me isn't enough.
Slow.... But Beautiful - By: Nadine Sookwa, 12 Jan 2004 This novel is one you'd like to curl up with on a rainy day. The plot is great... A relationship that didn't work out 8 1/2 years before, & getting a second chance at that same relationship. It's beautiful.
Anne Elliot is quiet, but strong. Jane Austen describes as not being beautiful, but proves that character is almost everything in a relationship. Frederick Wentworth, on the other hand, is handsome & rich. But he too, has character, in that he still loved Anne Elliott even after she hurt him so many years ago.
This book is one of constancy even when alll hope of restoration is gone, & the courage to forgive, start alll over again & love even more. It's wonderful.
