Jane Austen

The Penguin English Library Edition of Persuasion by Jane Austen 'Her attachment and regrets had, for a long time, clouded every enjoyment of youth; and an early loss of bloom and spirits had been their lasting effect' Persuasion, Jane Austen's last novel, is a moving, masterly and elegiac love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities. It tells the story of Anne Elliot, who, persuaded to break off her engagement to the man she loved because he was not successful enough, has never forgotten him. When he returns, he brings with him a tantalizing second chance of happiness ... The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War.

Persuasion

julia

There could have never been two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison, no countenances so beloved. Now they were as strangers; nay, worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was a perpetual estrangement.

PERSUASION; ED. BY JAMES KINSLEY.

loisesya

“Was not the very sight of the friend who sat behind you, was not the recollection of what had been, the knowledge of her influence, the indelible, immoveable impression of what persuasion had once done - was it not all against me?" 

Samantha Murguia

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight years and a half ago. Dare not say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.

For there was captain Wentworth: and be the conclusion of the present suspense good or bad, her affection would be his for ever

Now they were strangers; nay worse than strangers, for they could never become acquainted. It was perpetual estrangement. 

He had been most warmly attached to her, and had never seen a woman since whom he thought her equal; but, except from some natural sensation of curiosity, he had no desire of meeting her again. Her power with him was gone for ever.

He had not forgiven Anne Elliott. She had used him ill; deserted and disappointed him

This was quite a female case, and it would be highly absurd in him, who could be of no use at home, to shut himself up.

No one had ever come within the Kellynch circle, who could bear a comparison with Fredrick Wentworth, as he stood in her memory. 

Jane Austen's most mature and wickedly satirical final novel with gorgeous illustrations. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features gorgeous illustrations by Hugh Thomson and an afterword by author and critic Henry Hitchings. Persuasion follows the story of Anne Elliott, who as a teenager was engaged to a seemingly ideal man, Frederick Wentworth. But after being persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that he is too poor to be a suitable match, Anne ends their engagement. When they are reacquainted eight years later, their circumstances are transformed: Frederick is returning triumphantly from the Napoleonic War, while Anne's fortunes are floundering. Will their past regrets prevent them from finding future happiness?

karissa🌙

You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope.

The romance between Captain Wentworth and Anne, the daughter of Sir Walter Elliot, is doomed because of the young man's family connections and lack of wealth, until he makes his fortune at sea and returns to claim her as his wife.

Novel Ideas

…but Anne, with an elegance of mind and sweetness of character, which must have placed her high with any people of real understanding, was nobody with either father or sister.

Such a succinct combination of character and social commentary. One paragraph sets up Sir Walter Elliot perfectly. 

Vanity was the beginning and the end of Sir Walter Elliot’s character; vanity of person and of situation… He considered the blessing of beauty as inferior only to the blessing of a baronetcy; and Sir Walter Elliot, who united these gifts, was the constant object of his warmest respect and devotion.

Klára Kováčiková 

My idea of good company...is the company of clever, well-informed people, who have a great deal of conversation; that is what I call good company.'

'You are mistaken,' said he gently, 'that is not good company, that is the best.

...when pain is over, the remembrance of it often becomes a pleasure.

I hate to hear you talk about all women as if they were fine ladies instead of rational creatures. None of us want to be in calm waters all our lives.

She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped.

Eight years ago Anne Elliot bowed to pressure from her family and made the decision not to marry the man she loved, Captain Wentworth. Now, circumstances have conspired to bring him back into her social circle and Anne finds her old feelings for him reignited. However, when they meet again Wentworth behaves as if they are strangers and seems more interested in her friend Louisa. In this, her final novel, Jane Austen tells the story of a love that endures the tests of time and society with humour, insight and tenderness.

i'm dead. i need frederick in my life right now.

vika

I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope. Tell me not that I am too late, that such precious feelings are gone for ever. I offer myself to you again with a heart even more your own, than when you almost broke it eight and a half ago. Dare not to say that man forgets sooner than woman, that his love has an earlier death. I have loved none but you.

cora rolfes 

You pierce my soul, I am half agony, half hope 

Zoe Ivie 

“You pierce my soul, I am half agony, half hope

zoe m

Stas

Cunning, it’s a fast read it’s like ponyo (2008) for the big girls 

Kavitha Ramachandran 

Had to get used to the writing style and pace of the book, but got sucked in and I really liked the setting and the circle of acquaintances 😝 Hate the miscommunication, love the pining. Just delightful. 

Rocío de la Hera

"You pierce my soul. I'm half agony, half hope" ♥️ Te amo Jane, sos la reina de las descripciones y la mejor narradora de las revoluciones que pueden suscitar hasta los gestos más pequeños. Tan inteligente y sarcástica. Reina.

Sajiya Chaudhary

"I am half agony, half hope." I will frame the letter Captain Wentworth wrote to Anne Elliot, it's so good, that it made me cry. I have read & loved Pride & Prejudice and thought that Elizabeth Bennet & Darcy's story was it, but this book exceeded my expectations. This was a beautiful story.

“I an half agony, half hope” kicking my feeeetttt

Isabella

aileeeeeeen

re-reading this throw me back to the college, because when I was around the beginning of 20s, I spent myself reading classics which related to my major (really, a TMIs).

this novel is perfection, a beautiful literature, and frankly I prefer this than Pride & Prejudice. there is something alluring about how the story goes, and I like how Jane described Anne’s feelings and I just instantly comprehended it. it is both heartbreaking and delight.

Mariana

My first read by Jane Austen. I instantly fell for her writing and incredible ability to narrate events with the right amount of context and detail to make the read addictive yet not boring at all.
The recent movie adaptation by Netflix was heinous, and I despise it with all my heart.

trezaa

At twenty-seven, Anne Elliot is no longer young and has few romantic prospects. Eight years earlier, she had been persuaded by her friend Lady Russell to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a handsome naval captain with neither fortunenor rank. What happens when they encounter each other again is movingly told in Jane Austen's last completed novel. Set in the fashionable societies of Lyme Regis and Bath, Persuasion is a brilliant satire of vanity and pretension, but, above all,it is a love story tinged with the heartache of missed opportunities.

Bella Koch

This is a Jane Austen novel through and through: it is character driven, subtle, and beautifully written. I always feel as if her books read practically like mysteries, but the mystery is how the characters will act and change. Persuasion is no exception. The characters were very well developed and nuanced. It was a lot of fun to see how they would act in various situations. I love how the story came together and I thoroughly enjoyed Austen’s prose.

There are two things that made me love this book a bit less than some of Austen’s others. The first is that I was not very compelled by the love between Anne and Frederick. They spend the majority of the book barely speaking to one another. The only motivation to root for them (so to speak) is that they were previously madly in love. The second is that I found the characters less interesting than some of her others. In particular, I love Emma (from Emma) because she is heavily flawed and must experience some growth in order to have her happy ending. In contrast, Anne is much more subtly flawed and, in general, considered more elegant. She experiences all her development before the story takes place (in that she becomes more firm in her convictions). I can see how this could be more appealing to some readers and in fact, I know some people can’t stand Emma, but I didn’t love Anne nearly as much.

jack

A stray note before I begin: having now finished the completed works of Austen, I think this is my second favorite behind Mansfield Park. 

This book deals in subtleties in a way that no other Austen novel does. What is hinted at in Mansfield Park and Emma comes into a bit fuller of a form here. I think this is the only Austen novel I cried while reading because, like MP, its (comparably) restricted nature makes the intense parts so much more rewarding. This isn't the constant fever pitch of P&P or S&S (which makes all of their adaptations so silly; there's a reason why Emma is the most adapted Austen work despite its relative lack of notoriety).
Here Austen informs us most on her task of history-writing. This near-complete clarity on the project of narration in her work makes the reader wonder what could have come next in her career. Now that this authoritative move is mastered and packaged away, what is the next step for her? I won't try my hand at speculating here; someone else can do that for me. 

Woolf on Persuasion and Austen's early death: "There is a peculiar dullness and a peculiar beauty in Persuasion. The dullness is that which so often marks the transition stage between two different periods. The writer is a little bored. She has grown too familiar with the ways of her world.... Her mind is not altogether on the subject. But, while we feel that Jane Austen has done this before, and done it better, we also feel that she is trying to do something which she has never yet attempted. There is a new element in Persuasion, a quality, perhaps, that made Dr. Whewell fire up and insist that it was 'the most beautiful of her works....' She would have been the forerunner of Henry James and of Proust—but enough. Vain are these speculations: she died 'just as she was beginning to feel confidence in her own success.'"

v. c. de vera

the farther i read this book, the more i realize this is not a tale of second chance. rather, it's a tale of a first chance whose end remains ungratified for so many years.

moreover, the way frederick and anne kept each other as paragons of their ideal is so awwww

(lastly mary musgrove should stfu 💀 you're acting like my mom)

Matcha Donut

No comments because I’m being respectful towards Jane Austen.

In her last completed novel, Jane Austen revisits the theme of mischance and misunderstanding along the road to happiness. Seven years after she was persuaded to break off their engagement, Anne Elliot is unexpectedly reacquainted with Captain Frederick Wentworth. Anne is still in love with Wentworth, but will the captain be able to forgive her?

Chiltern Edition

Carmen Maria

rakshu

she literally invented second chance romance trope

Persuasion (Barnes & Noble Classics Series) (Barnes & Noble Classics)

Patricia Nelson

I suspect I read this at the wrong time. This was well-written, with characters I came to know and understand, if not like (duh- it's Jane Austen), but it was a challenge to read at this stressful time. This was our classic choice for book club this year, and I am looking forward to the discussion. I will re-read this in the future, and suspect I will appreciate it much more when I do. :)

Wilde

One of Austen's best. The setting and characters were great and the story seemed surprisingly realistic. Couldn't put it down.

Rita Santos

Lyn 

Hace como un año que había abandonado la historia a la mitad, se me dio por empezarlo de nuevo y fue la mejor decisión de mi vida. 

No sé que me gusto más, si Anne, un personaje tan maduro, sensible y real, si la trama, que me dejo pidiendo más o si las criticas mostradas y la grandiosa pluma de la autora. 

Fue increíble, para ser la primera obra que leo de ella. Espero que no sea la ultima.

Persuasion (Signet Classics)

Colleen

5 Stars

**My #5 best read of 2018**


I'm continuing my tradition of starting the year with a Jane Austen book keeping roughly in line with the 200th anniversaries of her works. It's such a wonderful way to start the year. 

Persuasion is a heartwarming novel about unrequited love and second chances. It just might be my favorite Austen book after Pride and Prejudice. The characters are engaging, the story is nuanced, and it's overall a lovely story.

Like all of Austen's works, there is more to this story than just romance. She always explores characteristics and personality traits as well as issues such as classism and sexism. These are woven subtly into the story. The title hints at one of the main themes: how people are influenced by family and friends and societal expectations. This is a cautionary tale without being preachy. And it's told in a witty and elegant way. Endearing love stories aren't the only reason Austen's works are still so popular. It's also because the themes and topics are still relevant two centuries later. 


  “'I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. Songs and proverbs, all talk of woman's fickleness. But perhaps you will say, these were all written by men.'

'Perhaps I shall. Yes, yes, if you please, no reference to examples in books. Men have had every advantage of us in telling their own story. Education has been theirs in so much higher a degree; the pen has been in their hands. I will not allow books to prove anything.'”

But despite all the intellectual aspects that make this novel amazing, it's still a damn good love story. The kind that makes your heart beat faster and causes butterflies in your stomach. Persuasion is a wonderful story that has stood the test of time. 


  "I can listen no longer in silence. I must speak to you by such means as are within my reach. You pierce my soul. I am half agony, half hope."


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 5 Stars
Writing Style: 5 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 5 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 5 Stars
Level of Captivation: 5 Stars
Originality: 5 Stars

Faith Ho 

a beautiful, pensive book for my unbeautiful, pensive mood. (this book really came at the perfect storm of a time)

anne elliot is a lovely, lonely protagonist, whose delicious (the most apt word i can think of!) pining and yearning (albeit in a very elegant and refined manner) for captain wentworth is the crux of the novel. 

austen is particularly adept at drawing out the psychological landscape and inner, miniature workings of her characters and their society. there's a subtlety to the writing that evokes a melancholic feeling, while maintaining humour and elegance in the language. 

studying p&p has really enhanced my appreciation of her work - you can see similar themes and stile; a notable feature i encountered is the subtle morality behind her novels through character illustration (and judgment). unfortunately it also means i have to refrain from reading much more austen until after the a levels just in case i mix up characters (it really doesn't help that there's an elizabeth and mary in this book too... and they are also sisters... are there really such limited choices of names??)

Persuasion

Reviews

Highlights