Jane Austen’s Persuasion is a beautifully done classic that captures both the heart and the minds of its readers. Set in the 1810s in coastal and inland parts of England, the main character, Anne Elliot finds a second chance for love. Anne is a young woman who is 28 and lives in a small town at her father’s estate. The book starts with Anne’s family having to rent out their home due to some financial problems. The couple that they happen to be renting to, are the relatives of Anne’s former love, Captain Wentworth. Six years previously, Anne had been persuaded by her close friend, Lady Russell, into turning down Captain Wentworth’s proposal, but Anne has secretly regretted this decision since the day she made it. As the book continues, when Anne and Captain Wentworth have fleeting encounters with each other, it is filled with awkwardness. While the Captain is in town, he starts courting two other young ladies. Later in the book, Anne fleetingly meets the estranged heir to her father’s estate, Mr. Elliot. After a time of some anxiety and shifting due to an unfortunate incident regarding one of Anne's sister-in-laws (also one of the young ladies Captain Wentworth was courting), Anne travels to Bath where her sister and father live. Here, Anne gets acquainted with her father’s heir, Mr. Elliot. At the end of the book, Anne ends up finding out some trickery on Mr. Elliot’s account from an old friend. She also gets to spend more time with Captain Wentworth, and they both realize that they are still madly in love with one another. The book has a sweet ending, with Anne and Captain Wentworth getting married, as well as some other characters getting what they deserve.
I would say that this book is a beautifully done classic by Jane Austen. She wrote an incredibly sweet story of redeeming love that touched my heart and managed not to be an unrealistic and cheesy love story. Austen also effectively wrote about amusing gossip and entertaining characters that made me want to continue reading. Jane Austen's writing is beautiful because of her use of imagery and her deep insight into the character's thoughts. It was not the best book that I have ever read, but the characters were entertaining and I always wanted to keep reading. While I would say that it is a more challenging read, and does have some slow parts, overall, it is a really sweet classic that is worth reading.
By Christina Junge
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