Books : Persuasion (Barnes & Noble Classics)

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Author name: Jane Austen

: Persuasion (Barnes & Noble Classics)
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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.7
EAN num: 9781593080488
ISBN number: 1593080484
Label: Barnes & Noble Classics
Manufacturer: Barnes & Noble Classics
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 304
Printing Date: August 01, 2005
Publishing house: Barnes & Noble Classics
Sale Popularity Level: 108602
Studio: Barnes & Noble Classics



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Editor's Notes and Comments:

Product Description:
Persuasion, by Jane Austen, is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics:
New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works.
 
In her final novel, as in her earlier ones, Jane Austen uses a love story to explore and gently satirize social pretensions and emotional confusion. Persuasion follows the romance of Anne Elliot and naval officer Frederick Wentworth. They were happily engaged until Anne’s friend, Lady Russell, persuaded her that Frederick was “unworthy.” Now, eight years later, Frederick returns, a wealthy captain in the navy, while Anne’s family teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. They still love each other, but their past mistakes threaten to keep them apart.

Austen may seem to paint on a small canvas, but her characters contain the full range of human passion and moral complexity, and the author’s generous spirit renders them all with understanding, compassion, and humor.



Susan Ostrov Weisser is a professor of English at Adelphi University, where she specializes in nineteenth-century literature and women’s studies. Weisser also wrote the introduction to the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Jane Eyre.





Customer Reviews
User popularity level: out of 5 stars

Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - 'Persuasion' presents a whirlwind romance that you can't help but get swept up into!
At 19-years-old, Anne Elliot was a beauty who fell in love with naval officer Captain Wentworth. The two shared a whirlwind romance; but the fact that Captain Wentworth was lacking in the financial department, caused the two to part ways. It wasn't that Anne wanted to say goodbye to Captain Wentworth; she was more bullied into it by Lady Russell, a friend of her deceased mother. Ten years have passed. Anne is now twenty-nine-years-old. Over the years, she has met no other suitor who tickled her fancy in the way that Captain Wentworth was able to. Thus, she has never gotten married. The fact that her father, Sir Walter Elliot is heavy handed when it comes to spending only makes Anne more convinced that she will never have a significant other; after all, she would not have much in terms of money to bring to a relationship. But then Captain Wentworth comes back.

While the ten years which have passed have done little to mar Anne Elliot's beauty, they have done much to decrease the amount of money still left within her family. As a baronet, Sir Walter Elliot is obsessed with keeping up with the times, this means draping himself in all sorts of fashionable garb, and displaying his social rank for the world to see. When not glancing at himself in mirrors, Sir Walter Elliot spends his time with the scheming, husband-hungry, Mrs. Clay. Mrs. Clay, who has befriended Anne's older sister, Elizabeth, would do anything to catch herself a husband. Elizabeth is the same way. Unlike Anne, Elizabeth is just as obsessed with social status as her father; and both Elizabeth and Sir Walter Elliot look down upon Anne. Anne's other sister, Mary, who is married and has children, looks down upon Anne just as her sister and father. Mary expects Anne to wait on her hand and foot at all times - even when she is a guest in her own home. Anne is usually happy to oblige; but when she finds that her home, Kellynch Hall, will be rented out, and that she and her family must take up residence in Bath, she is quite disappointed. That is, until she runs into Captain Wentworth. Captain Wentworth is more dashing than ever before, and Anne can't help but feel the same attraction to him that overwhelmed her ten years ago. But with so much time gone, Anne can't tell if Captain Wentworth still feels the same way about her; and with other women vying for his attentions, she can't help but wonder if the two of them will ever be together again.

I will admit that it took me a few chapters to truly become interested in PERSUASION; but once I was introduced to Anne Elliot, there was absolutely no turning back. From the moment Anne Elliot enters the story, you can't help but fall in love with her. She is demure, kind, intelligent, spirited, and debonair, in her own right. She is so willing to please those surrounding her, that, at times, the reader can't help but wish that she would lash out, and speak up for herself. Yet, perhaps, if she did just that, she wouldn't be as much of an appealing, lovable character. Captain Wentworth's quiet, shy, timid persona can be infuriating at times, but he is still a dashing, handsome male lead that you can't help but swoon over. The confusion between Captain Wentworth and Anne Elliot, regarding their relationship, can, at times be trying, as the reader wants to see the two of them together; but the mishaps produce a piece of dry humour that is entertaining and adds to the storyline. PERSUASION presents a whirlwind romance that you can't help but get swept up into!

Erika Sorocco
Freelance Reviewer


Rated by buyers 5 out of 5 stars - Love's Barriers Delightfully Probed in Polite Conversation
Persuasion is Jane Austen's most sophisticated story and writing. She lovingly and incisively demonstrates the problems of being a well-bred sensitive person in a society that's more intrigued by social standing, money, and polite conversation than by good character.

Persuasion is Anne Elliot's story. The title's initial allusion is to Anne's brush with matrimony when a promising, but not rich, naval officer, Captain Wentworth, proposed and she fell in love with him at 19. But Anne's deceased mother's friend, Lady Russell, persuaded Anne not to make the match. Up until the time of the story, Anne hasn't had another suitor and she's now well past the usual age of marriage at 29 and "her bloom had vanish early." Her father's spendthrift ways mean that Anne could bring little money to a marriage so she's expecting not to marry.

While in her social class that lack of a husband is a drawback, in reality her family is a greater problem. Her father, Sir Walter Elliot, is a baronet who spends too much money, is obsessed by social rank, loves to be around the "beautiful people" and admire himself in a mirror, and keeps company with an unsuitable, scheming widow, Mrs. Clay, who is looking for a husband and has latched onto Elizabeth as friend. Anne's older sister, Elizabeth, is also unmarried and is as equally obsessed with social status as their father. Both Sir Walter and Elizabeth fail to value Anne and looked to her to suit their conveniences. The other daughter, Mary, is married but the connection doesn't thrill either Sir Walter or Elizabeth. Mary sees Anne as a virtual servant who should wait on her every beck and call when Anne is her guest.

Due to Sir Walter's over spending of his income, it is decided he will rent the family estate, Kellynch Hall, while he, Elizabeth, and Anne take up less expensive quarters and a reduced social life in Bath. This change sets lots of new events into motion, not the least of which is Anne being re-introduced to Captain Wentworth who now has a fortune and seems to be looking for a lively, young wife. Only their common commitment to being polite makes time in one another's company tolerable. What strong emotions burn under the surface? She's very embarrassed, but Captain Wentworth is hard to read.

In the course of the book, you'll find out a lot about social climbing in Regency England, the finances of the social elites and those who were up-and-coming, how marriage agreements were struck, and how the naval officers differed from the gentry. You'll also be impressed, I'm sure, by the patina of politeness that served as a social lubricant among people who often didn't care a trifle for one another.

In such a society, people mostly wore masks of being thoughtful, considerate people while in reality they were seldom thinking about very much and didn't care much for others. Anne Elliot is the exception in that her heart and mind are actually devoted to the service of others.

One of the most interesting parts of the story is how it was possible (mostly by accident) to sort out the phonies from among those with glittering manners.

Anne Elliot is one of the most memorable and admirable characters in English literature. Do read this book and find out about the other kinds of persuasion that took place during this year of her fictional life. You'll be delighted that you did.




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