Reviewing Jane Austen's "Persuasion"

It’s the same old story.  Boy meets girl, they fall in love, boy proposes, and girl turns him down on the advice of a surrogate mother because the boy is a lowly naval officer* with few prospects and logically their marriage would end in disaster.  Then ten years later the boy comes into the girl’s life again and is rich, prestigious, and bent on not being in love with her again.

Such is the gist of Persuasion, Austen’s last complete novel before her death and often called her most mature and polished work. 
In many ways it’s the most romantic—how many other “love stories” are about hopelessness, regret, and steadfastness in the face of it?--of all Austen's works.   Its heroine, Anne Elliot, is the girl who had regretted turning down her love for Captain Wentworth.  Although the romantic in us readers might tempt us to think the “persuasion” of the title is Anne persuading Wentworth to love her again, that wouldn’t be accurate.  The “persuasion” of the book is already done, by Anne’s mentor Lady Russell who persuaded Anne to dump Wentworth before the novel even has begun. 

Thought the prose of this novel runs along at a quiet, temperate, and deliberate pace, there nevertheless is a sense of urgency, as if Austen knew this would be the last book she’d finish.  Dialog is summarized rather than written out in the long conversations that are characteristic of Pride and Prejudice or Emma.  The sense of urgency works to develop Anne’s character: she’s an old maid, and time is precious. 

(OH DEAR I just realized that I am the same age as Anne Elliot.  I suddenly feel so old.  Emma and Elizabeth and Elinor and everyone else named with an “E” are whippersnappers compare to me!)

While I didn’t really care for Persuasion when I originally read it, it does hold a special place in my reader’s heart.  This is because the adaptation starring Amanda Root is my favorite Austen movie.  It’s very slow, deliberate, and sweet.  The nuance and artistry, from the casting to the musical score, accentuates every part of the story.  Take a quiet rainy afternoon and give that movie an attentive viewing.  

*For any of those reading Jane Austen for the first time here’s a hint as to interpreting whether a character is good: if they’re in the Navy, they are goodgoodGOOD.  Two of Jane’s brothers were in the Navy and the bias shows. 

Recommended Reading Age: 15+ (not because it’s inappropriate, but because it does take a level of mature readership to appreciate)

Parental Notes: None

Availability: And you thought I was joking when I said I was going to recommend Penguin Classics clothbounds for all of these reviews.  

Adaptations: To me, only this one.  There’s a newer miniseries adaptation, but I find it pales in comparison.