Persuasion (original 1818; edition 2007)

by Jane Austen

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▾Book information

Member:	Nickelini
Title:	Persuasion
Authors:	Jane Austen
Info:	Worth Press (2007), Paperback, 496 pages
Collections:	Your library, 1001 Books, Special Editions
Rating:
Tags:	British literature, England, 1001, University, 19th century, Fiction, Bath England, Lyme Regis, Guardian 1000

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Persuasion by Jane Austen (1818)

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▾LibraryThing recommendations

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Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (1966)
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▾Member recommendations

273
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (carlym)
184
Wives and Daughters by Elizabeth Gaskell (Shuffy2)
Shuffy2: In addition to North and South by Gaskell, Wives and Daughters is another great read for people who love Austen's Persusion and Sense and Sensibility!
162
The Blue Castle by L. M. Montgomery (allisongryski)
allisongryski: This is by no means an obvious recommendation. However, the quality of writing and something of the heroines' characters is similar. The heroines of these two books are both under-appreciated members of their families, who are thought beyond any chance of marriage. They are both forced by circumstance to find courage that they didn't know they possessed and they are rewarded with eventual happiness.… (more)
125
North and South by Elizabeth Gaskell (Anonymous user)
95
Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange (mzackin)
mzackin: This is the story of persuasion told from the other side. It is very well written and stays true to the story, even quoting lines from Austen.
63
The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro (electronicmemory)
electronicmemory: Slow, languid stories about regret and life choices not understood until they've passed by.
11
The Old House at Railes by Mary Emily Pearce (sferguson)
sferguson: A great book that will be enjoyed by those who are interested in a bit of non-standard romance.
512
Bridget Jones. The Edge of Reason by Helen Fielding (spygirl)
spygirl: Helen Fielding's first novel Bridget Jones's Diary was a remake of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. The sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason is a remake of Austen's Persuasion.

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English (269) Spanish (6) Dutch (3) Swedish (2) Italian (2) German (2) Portuguese (1) Portuguese (Portugal) (1) Hungarian (1) All languages (287)

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Showing 1-5 of 269 (next | show all)

The humour is a bit broader than I remembered. Many nice phrases are turned. At bottom, this a comic romance, with a happily ever after (unless killed or maimed in a naval engagement) ending. It has the difficulties, followed by the happy reconciliation of countless others like it. But it is very sprightly, and quite cynical about family connections. Anne's relations have no redeeming features beyond being well groomed and preserved. (

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themulhern | May 4, 2013 |

Tied for my favourite Austen ever. The quiet, musing nature of the novel - less starkly sarcastic than either Pride and Prejudice or Emma, less knowingly silly than either Northanger Abbey or Sense and Sensibility, yet much less maudlin than Mansfield Park (which I don't like much). I have a soft spot for her characters who care so deeply about doing the Right Thing (for better, or more often, for worse - Eleanor, Anne, and Charlotte all suffer greatly in the name of propriety) and I like the surrounding characters a lot in this (in the sense that I think they're good characters). It's on my reread pile. (

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heterocephalusglaber | Apr 26, 2013 |

Austen is funniest when she’s dealing with social snobs, and this novel starts out that way. But the heroine is the daughter of the snob in question, and she is a modest and sensible young lady. Her main fault is that she’s been too easily persuaded to turn her back on the man she really loves. This novel brings her back to him. It’s a perfect antidote after you've read anything depressing. (

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astrologerjenny | Apr 24, 2013 |

Reading Jane Austen is like drinking a perfectly made cup of tea, late in the afternoon. Her prose is so smooth and comforting and perfectly elegant. I really enjoyed Persuasion, more than I expected to. Austen seemed to really explore the motivations and interactions of her characters. The breathless and romantic ending was delightfully swoony as well. :) (

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KristySP | Apr 21, 2013 |

Loved the lampooning of Anne Elliot's family, and everyone fainting and being useless at Louisa's jumping the steps on the Cobb at Lyme. I especially enjoyed the Admiral's need to remove all Sir Walter's mirrors. But I didn't go for Captain Wentworth's letter - it felt like the kind of thing we girls want our men to write, but they don't write those things. Maybe JA never really worked out how to manage it either, bearing in mind there is more than one reconciliation device. (

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emmakendon | Apr 21, 2013 |

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▾Published reviews

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▾Other authors

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Author name	Role	Type of author	Work?	Status
Jane Austen	—	primary author	all editions	confirmed
Alfsen, Merete	Translator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Austen-Leigh, J.E.	—	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Bloom, Amy	Introduction	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Gibson, Flo	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Harding, D. W.	Editor	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Lane, Maggie	Preface	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Reilly, James	Editor	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Ross, Josephine	Preface	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Sanderson, Caroline	Preface	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Scacchi, Greta	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Stevenson, Juliet	Narrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Thomson, Hugh	Illustrator	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Tysdahl, Bjørn	Afterword	secondary author	some editions	confirmed
Wiltshire, John	Foreword	secondary author	some editions	confirmed

▾Work-to-work relationships

Is contained in

Northanger Abbey/Persuasion by Jane Austen

Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice Mansfield Park Persuasion by Jane Austen

Emma/Mansfield Park/Northanger Abbey/Persuasion/Pride and Prejudice/Sense and Sensibility AND Lady Susan by Jane Austen

Persuasion AND A Memoir of Jane Austen by Jane Austen

The complete novels of Jane Austen by Jane Austen

Emma/Mansfield Park/Northanger Abbey/Persuasion/Pride and Prejudice/Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen

(show 8 more)

Emma/Mansfield Park/Northanger Abbey/Persuasion/Pride and Predjudice/Sense and Sensibility AND Shorter Works by Jane Austen

Emma/Persuasion/Pride And Prejudice/Sense And Sensibility by Jane Austen

Persuasion AND Lady Susan by Jane Austen

The annotated Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion and Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange

Emma/Mansfield Park/Northanger Abbey/Persuasion/Pride and Prejudice/Sense and Sensibility AND Catharine/Lady Susan/Sanditon/The Watsons by Jane Austen

Persuasion (Norton Critical Edition) by Jane Austen

Emma/Northanger Abbey/Persuasion by Jane Austen

Is retold in

Persuading Annie by Melissa Nathan

Captain Wentworth's Diary by Amanda Grange

None But You by Susan Kaye

For You Alone by Susan Kaye

Has the adaptation

Persuasion [abridged - Penguin Reader] by Jane Austen

Persuasion [adapted - Oxford Bookworms] by Clare West

Inspired

For Darkness Shows The Stars by Diana Peterfreund

Jane Austen Made Me Do It: Original Stories Inspired by Literature's Most Astute Observer of the Human Heart by Laurel Ann Nattress

Has as a student's study guide

Mastering the Novels of Jane Austen (Palgrave Master Series) by Richard Gill

Brodie's notes on Jane Austen's 'Persuasion' by Kathleen M. Goad

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▾Common Knowledge

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Series (with order)

Canonical title

Persuasion

Original title

Persuasion

Alternative titles

Persuasion

Original publication date

1818

People/Characters

Important places

Bath, Somerset, England, UK

Kellynch Hall, Somerset, England, UK

Uppercross, Somerset, England, UK

Lyme Regis, Dorset, England, UK

Somerset, England, UK

(show all 7 items)

Important events

Napoleonic Wars

Related movies

Persuasion (1960 ∙ TV mini-series ∙ IMDb)

Persuasion (1971 ∙ TV mini-series ∙ IMDb)

Novela: Persuasión (1972 ∙ IMDb)

Persuasion (1995 ∙ Roger Michell ∙ IMDb)

Persuasion (2007 ∙ TV mini-series ∙ IMDb)

Awards and honors

BBC's Big Read (Best loved novel, 2003, No 38)

1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die (2006 Edition)

Guardian 1000 (Love)

AAR Top 100 Romances (200746|Most Recent Rank - 2007, 54)

Guardian Essential Library (Fiction)

(show all 8 items)

Epigraph

Dedication

First words

Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch-hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage; there he found occupation for an idle hour, and consolation in a distressed one; there his faculties were roused into admiration and respect, by contemplating the limited remnant of the earliest patents; there any unwelcome sensations, arising from domestic affairs, changed naturally into pity and contempt.

Quotations

She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older: the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.

Last words

(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)

Disambiguation notice

the isbn 0486295559 is associated withe Dover edition of persuasion, not the Norton Critical Edition

Publisher's editors

Blurbers

Publisher series

Modern Library Classics

Bantam Classics

Dover Thrift Editions

Oxford World's Classics

Barnes and Noble Classics

(show all 16 items)

▾References

References to this work on external resources.

Wikipedia in English (1)

Barnes & Noble Classics Collection

▾LibraryThing members' description

Book description

Anne Elliott, bullied or ignored by her father and sisters, relinquished her hopes of love when she was forced to reject Captain Wentworth. Now, years later, they meet again: he, prosperous and eligible, scarcely recognises the faded pretty woman. And she stays quietly in the background as he courts the lively and affectionate Louisa Musgrove. So why, when she joins her family in Bath, does Anne hesitate over the eminently suitable addresses paid to her by a distant cousin? And why does Captian Wentworth appear there too? While Jane Austen is here as quick as ever to ridicule self-importance, self-interest and cold-heartedness, while she tellingly contrasts the icy snobbery of the Elliots with the openness and warmth of Wentworth's naval friends, this novel has a tenderness and gravity which makes it unique among her works.

Haiku summary

▾Book descriptions

Amazon.com Amazon.com Review (ISBN 0141439688, Paperback)

Anne Elliot, heroine of Austen's last novel, did something we can all relate to: Long ago, she let the love of her life get away. In this case, she had allowed herself to be persuaded by a trusted family friend that the young man she loved wasn't an adequate match, social stationwise, and that Anne could do better. The novel opens some seven years after Anne sent her beau packing, and she's still alone. But then the guy she never stopped loving comes back from the sea. As always, Austen's storytelling is so confident, you can't help but allow yourself to be taken on the enjoyable journey.

(retrieved from Amazon Thu, 14 Feb 2013 13:31:51 -0500)

(see all 8 descriptions)

▾Library descriptions

Twenty-seven-year old Anne Elliot is Austen's most adult heroine. Eight years before the story proper begins, she is happily betrothed to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but she precipitously breaks off the engagement when persuaded by her friend La.… (more)

(summary from another edition)

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