Saturday, July 21, 2012

Persuasion

Jane Austen
Persuasion is my favorite Jane Austen novel.
The first thing that I love about Persuasion is that the heroine is not a very young seventeen year old girl being pursued by a man much older man which is usually the case with romance novels taking place during this time period.  Anne Eliot is the heroine and she is eight and twenty years old.  The hero is naval officer Captain Frederick Wentworth and he is thirty one years old.

 Amanda Root plays Anne Eliot in the 1995 version of Persuasion

  Ciaran Hinds plays Captain Wentworth

Amanda and Ciaran represent their characters well.


The happy couple actually met when Anne was 19 and Frederick was 23.  They fell in very deeply in love and Anne excepted Frederick's marriage proposal.  However, on advice from family friend Lady Russell, Anne changed her mind.  Lady Russell convinced Anne that it was not a suitable match because at the time Frederick had no money and was considered of inferior birth.
 Frederick was devastated and sailed off to fight in the Napoleonic war.  Anne soon afterwards regrets turning away the man she loves.

Persuasion begins eight years later when the war is over.  Captain Wentworth returns as a decorated war hero and much richer. Captain Wentworth's love for Anne remained constant all those years that he was away and he still loves her but is also still feeling the sting of her rejection.

You will have to read the book to find out how The Captain makes his way back into Anne's life and writes her the most beautiful love letter known to man.

Anne is a very lucky gal


5 Stars 


2 comments:

Phylly3 said...

I missed this review. It is a lovely novel. I have read it more than once and probably will again.

Hamlette (Rachel) said...

This is also my favorite Austen novel! I haven't seen any filmed versions, though, and hope to be able to find the version you referenced.