i LOVE this book. close second to pride

My favourite novel ever! And the BBC film does it full justice. THE letter-writing scene is the...more

My favourite novel ever! And the BBC film does it full justice. THE letter-writing scene is the most exciting thing I've read, and I love the sense of tremendous emotional storm overriding the strictest economy of style: every word is necessary - yet pregnant with passion...   hide

Oh so lovely. It has one of the most romantic scenes I've ever read.

I love the message this book has to convey. To think of the power of persuasion that family and...more

I love the message this book has to convey. To think of the power of persuasion that family and society in general had over peoples' lives in Auesten's time is something hard for us to understand today. The book seems to suggest that Anne overcomes persuastion but I can also see in it a transition from society persuading her to her persuading society. In the end the tables are indeed turned so that the pressure exerted over he by society in the beginning is better called disuasion.   hide

Like all of her novels, Jane Austen's PERSUASION is essentially a comedy of manners--a work in...more

Like all of her novels, Jane Austen's PERSUASION is essentially a comedy of manners--a work in which the characters must negotiate a complex code of conduct in order to survive, much less achieve their ends. And in a certain sense the novel is indicative of Austen's great talent, razor sharp, laced with irony and wit, and remarkably phrased. And yet PERSUASION is quite unlike Austen's other novels in the story it tells.To tell the truth the chapter before the last was my favorite.This novel was the last one that Austen wrote before she died. It is a more mature novel, dealing with many issues not found in Austen's previous novels. One reason why people find faults with the book is that Anne Elliot, the heroine, is not as spunky or witty as an Elizabeth Bennett or an Emma Woodhouse. There is not so much wit flowing in the dialogue between characters, or even dialogue in general. But these differences between the novels make this one so unique.   hide