In a previous book club novel, "Queen High" by C.J. Carey (reviewed here and here), "Persuasion" was the heroine's favourite novel -- and she's saving it to be "corrected" last -- i.e., rewritten/censored to make the heroine more docile and palatable to the Nazi overlords. She knows that, when her work is done, the final remaining original copy will then be destroyed. (Shudder.) Part of the novel is set in Lyme Regis, the setting of another one of our previous picks, "Remarkable Creatures" by Tracy Chevalier (reviewed here).
So when my co-host suggested we should read "Persuasion" together, it seemed like it would be a good fit.
At 27, Anne Elliot is one of Austen's older and more mature heroines. She was briefly engaged when she was 19 to a young naval officer, Frederick Wentworth -- but her family disapproved of the match because of his lack of money and social status, and the relationship ended.
Eight years later, the tables have turned: Wentworth has made a name for himself in the navy -- and a lot of money -- while the Elliots have fallen into debt and been forced to leave their ancestral home and rent it out -- to Wentworth's sister and her husband. Wentworth is now home from abroad, and looking for a wife. And Anne has never forgotten him...
"Persuasion" was the last of Austen's six novels to be published in her lifetime, in December 1817. By today's standards, her books may be a little slow and wordy. But human nature is still very much the same, and Austen is a keen observer. I especially love how she shows us Anne's inner turbulence when Wentworth reappears in her life -- watching him from the window of a shop in Bath, aware of his presence at a concert, silently willing him to come speak to her... I was reminded of feeling that same sense of excruciating longing and hyper-awareness of the presence of the boy I was interested in, when I was a teen/young adult... (There's a reason why Austen's books are considered classics!)
I've read three Austen novels in the past -- "Emma" (studied at university), "Pride and Prejudice" (between terms) and "Sense and Sensibility" (around the time the movie version came out, starring Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet -- the one movie I dragged dh to that he didn't end up liking! lol). Needless to say, this was all some time ago (cough!), and I don't remember a lot of the fine details, although I do remember I enjoyed all of them (and, of course, I've seen several screen versions of these books -- albeit not the infamous version of P&P with Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy -- although of course I've seen the clips of THAT scene! lol). (I know!!).
I've also enjoyed several Austen-adjacent books, including "The Jane Austen Society" by Natalie Jenner (reviewed here), and "The Jane Austen Book Club" by Karen Joy Fowler, which we discussed as part of Mel's Barren Bitches Book Brigade, in the early days of this blog.
I'm glad to add "Persuasion" to the list. I think "Pride & Prejudice" remains my favourite so far, but this one would rank highly too. (And now I'm tempted to try to squeeze "Northanger Abbey" and "Mansfield Park" into my gargantuan To Be Read pile!)
4 stars on Goodreads/StoryGraph.
This was Book #30 read to date in 2024 (and Book #3 finished in October), bringing me to 67% of my 2024 Goodreads Reading Challenge goal of 45 books. I am (for the moment, anyway...!) 5 (!) books behind schedule to meet my goal. :( You can find reviews of all my books read to date in 2024 tagged as "2024 books."
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