Persuasion - Jane Austen

Rating: 5

Possibly the most pleasant surprise I have had in all year, if not years! I have to admit to having only read one Jane Austen novel in my life, Pride & Prejudice while at school, but I have seen film or television adaptations of all the books. After having seen Persuasion recently, I was determined to read it next as I was so intrigued by the heroine.

For those who do not know the story...the Elliot family are forced to leave their home of Kellynch Hall in Somerset, as Sir Walter Elliot and his oldest daughter Elizabeth have racked up a large amount of debts. The house is leased to Admiral Croft and his wife, while Sir Walter and Elizabeth move to the very fashionable Bath with Elizabeth's companion, the widowed Mrs Clay. The heroine of our story however, is Anne Elliot, the middle daughter, who has no wish to leave Somerset and remains happily for a time with her close friend and confidante Lady Russell, and Anne's younger sister Mary's family, the Musgroves at Uppercross. After moving into Kellynch, the Crofts are joined by Mrs Croft's brother, Captain Frederic Wentworth, whose attractiveness, manners and wealth causes quite the stir at Uppercross. Here we learn Anne's secret, a former engagement at 19 years of age to Captain Wentworth, broken off by Anne after persuasion from Lady Russell that her intended was not suitable, being of low station and, at the time, no wealth. Anne is heartbroken to see Wentworth's bitterness towards her, and the attention he gives the young and pretty Musgrove sisters, and has some decisions of her own to make after receiving the attentions of her cousin, William Elliot.

The novel, Austen's final completed novel before she died, is wonderfully written, with lively characters, and a wonderful theme of forgiveness and enduring affection. It is lighter than the others, and not as complex, but far more melancholy, perhaps reflecting Austen's own frame of mind at the time (she was very ill). The scenes on the Cobb at Lyme are vivid and add a dash of excitement in a rather slow tale. Austen did write a different ending originally, which is nowhere near as satisfying, but interesting to see in terms of her own capacity to critique her writing, and raise the strength to write the book she wanted. In typical Austen style, some characters are unmasked as particularly dastardly later in the novel, yet we are left with some loose ends. There are several enjoyable characters, including the genuine and loveable Crofts, the arrogant Mary and her adorably obtuse husband Charles, and of course the intriguingly hard to read Captain Wentworth. But this is Anne Elliot's story, and couldn't belong to a better character.

Anne has to be my favourite of all of Austen's heroines. At 27, she is older than any other heroine, and unlike Elizabeth Bennet or Fanny Price, Anne is by no means a perfect woman finding herself in unfortunate circumstances out of her control. She has loved and lost. She is intelligent and mature, yet reserved, and does not wish Wentworth to see her continuing affection, though she seems to want him to see better of her. The situation is of her own doing, having made a poor decision while still a young woman, being influenced by others against her own heart.

I unashamedly love this book and have been (re)converted to Jane Austen's fabulous world, complicated in its own way, yet so different from my own! But I am glad that I am only reading this now, and not when a lot younger. The melancholy tone and slow pace may have put me off Austen entirely ten years ago, but now I find it refreshing and as a writer, inspiring. A more mature novel, for perhaps a more mature reader. If only there had been more mature Austen..

p.s. the 2007 itv adaptation of persuasion is excellent, though quite different to the book..but with an excellent sally hawkins and a rather yummy captain wentworth!

Other blog reviews:
Eva at A Striped Armchair