LoveReading Says
May 2014 Guest Editor Daisy Goodwin on Persuasion...
I love Jane Austen with a deep and enduring passion, and I think the story of Anne Elliott’s second chance is possibly my favourite. The way that she revives as a character like a flower soaking up water is quite miraculous. It is also has a plot of clockwork perfection. I read this book at least once a year and I always find something new to marvel at.
The Lovereading view...
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. In her introduction, Gillian Beer discusses Austen's portrayal of the double-edged nature of persuasion and the clash between old and new worlds. This edition also includes a new chronology and full textual notes.
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Persuasion Synopsis
Chiltern Publishing was formed in 2018 with a vision to create the most beautiful classics. Jane Austen's original books (particularly Pride and Prejudice) from the 1800s were our inspiration. So, using a perfect mix of tradition and the very latest in printing techniques, 19th Century quality has met 21st Century technology. The specification of our books reflects the size and format of the original Jane Austen books, and this is maintained throughout all of our editions. With wonderfully detailed covers, sparkling gilt edges, creamy pages, and stitched binding they are the most beautiful classics ever published.
This book has a matching lined journal (sold separately). They make a great gift when paired together but are also just as beautiful on their own.
Persuasion is a novel by Jane Austen in which the 27-year-old Anne Russell, who broke off a youthful engagement with Captain Frederick Wentworth, reconciles with him before the two again become engaged. Years after their engagement, Anne and Wentworth meet again. Anne still cares for him, but he is aloof to her. Anne is courted by her cousin, Mr. William Elliot, a widower, though Anne is not interested in Elliott, Wentworth is jealous of Elliot's interest in Anne. Wentworth writes Anne a long, emotional letter, and soon they are engaged again..
About This Edition
About Jane Austen
Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at Steventon near Basingstoke, the seventh child of the rector of the parish. She lived with her family at Steventon until they moved to Bath when her father retired in 1801. After his death in 1805, she moved around with her mother; in 1809, they settled in Chawton, near Alton, Hampshire. Here she remained, except for a few visits to London, until in May 1817 she moved to Winchester to be near her doctor. There she died on 18 July 1817.
As a girl Jane Austen wrote stories, including burlesques of popular romances. Her works were only published after much revision, four novels being published in her lifetime. These are Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1816). Two other novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published posthumously in 1818 with a biographical notice by her brother, Henry Austen, the first formal announcement of her authorship. Persuasion was written in a race against failing health in 1815-16. She also left two earlier compositions, a short epistolary novel, Lady Susan, and an unfinished novel, The Watsons. At the time of her death, she was working on a new novel, Sanditon, a fragmentary draft of which survives.
Fellow novelist Katharine McMahon on Jane Austen...
I can't not choose her. And whichever I've read last is always my favourite. The nuance of emotion, the understanding of human nature revealed by Austen constantly delights me. When I reread Sense and Sensibility recently, for the first time Elinor came across as quite prissy and destined to marry a rather spineless husband. I wonder if that was intended?
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