From the Publisher
Of all Jane Austen's great and delightful novels,
Persuasion is widely regarded as the most moving. It is
the story of a second chance.
Anne Elliot, daughter of the snobbish Sir Walter Elliot, is woman
of quiet charm and deep feelings. When she was nineteen she fell in
love with-and was engaged to-a naval officer, the fearless and
headstrong Captain Wentworth. But the young man had no fortune, and
Anne allowed herself to be persuaded to give him up. Now, eight
years later, Wentworth has returned to the neighborhood, a rich man
and still unwed. Anne's never-diminished love is muffled by her
pride, and he seems cold and unforgiving. What happens as the two
are thrown together in the social world of Bath-and as an eager new
suitor appears for Anne-is touchingly and wittily told in a
masterpiece that is also one of the most entrancing novels in the
English language.
From the Jacket
"Critics, especially [recently], value Persuasion highly,
as the author's 'most deeply felt fiction,' 'the novel which in the
end the experienced reader of Jane Austen puts at the head of the
list.' . . . Anne wins back Wentworth and wins over the reader; we
may, like him, end up thinking Anne's character 'perfection
itself.'" -from the Introduction by Judith Terry
From the Hardcover edition.
About the Author
Though the domain of Jane Austen's novels was as circumscribed as
her life, her caustic wit and keen observation made her the equal
of the greatest novelists in any language. Born the seventh child
of the rector of Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, she
was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing
sketches and satires of popular novels for her family's
entertainment. As a clergyman's daughter from a well-connected
family, she had an ample opportunity to study the habits of the
middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. At twenty-one, she
began a novel called "The First Impressions" an early version of
Pride and Prejudice. In 1801, on her father's
retirement, the family moved to the fashionable resort of Bath. Two
years later she sold the first version of Northanger
Abby to a London publisher, but the first of her novels to
appear was Sense and Sensibility, published at her
own expense in 1811. It was followed by Pride and
Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814),
and Emma (1815).
After her father died in 1805, the family first moved to
Southampton then to Chawton Cottage in Hampshire. Despite this
relative retirement, Jane Austen was still in touch with a wider
world, mainly through her brothers; one had become a very rich
country gentleman, another a London banker, and two were naval
officers. Though her many novels were published anonymously, she
had many early and devoted readers, among them the Prince Regent
and Sir Walter Scott. In 1816, in declining health, Austen wrote
Persuasion and revised Northanger
Abby, Her last work, Sandition, was left
unfinished at her death on July 18, 1817. She was buried in
Winchester Cathedral. Austen's identity as an author was announced
to the world posthumously by her brother Henry, who supervised the
publication of Northanger Abby and
Persuasion in 1818.
From the Paperback edition.
About the Book
Of all Jane Austen's great and delightful novels, "Persuasion "is
widely regarded as the most moving. It is the story of a second
chance.
Anne Elliot, daughter of the snobbish Sir Walter Elliot, is woman
of quiet charm and deep feelings. When she was nineteen she fell in
love with--and was engaged to--a naval officer, the fearless and
headstrong Captain Wentworth. But the young man had no fortune, and
Anne allowed herself to be persuaded to give him up. Now, eight
years later, Wentworth has returned to the neighborhood, a rich man
and still unwed. Anne's never-diminished love is muffled by her
pride, and he seems cold and unforgiving. What happens as the two
are thrown together in the social world of Bath--and as an eager
new suitor appears for Anne--is touchingly and wittily told in a
masterpiece that is also one of the most entrancing novels in the
English language.
