Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Publisher: Starbooks Classics Publishing (2013)

397 pages, eBook (Purchased Myself for $1.99)

Book Rating: 5 Stars

Content Ratings:

Violence: Mild-Moderate-Brutal

Swearing: Clean-Light-Filthy

Sexual Content: White-Pink-Red

Summary:

This is the story of quiet, unassuming Anne Elliot, a young woman approaching the age of spinsterhood, and obliged to leave her childhood home of Kellynch due to her father’s extravagance and debts, only to have Kellynch leased to Admiral and Mrs. Croft (Mrs. Croft being the sister of Anne’s only love, Frederick, whom she had been persuaded to give up when she was young, because he had no fortune) which brought Anne once more into company with the man she’d lost, inspiring both regret and hope.

My Thoughts:

This is one of my favorite Jane Austen stories, if only because in its heroine I see a quiet, intelligent young woman, prone to introspection and silent observation of her surroundings, that reminds me alot of myself. This story is told entirely from Anne’s point-of-view, and more than a few times I wished we could have heard from Frederick, but I think his silence and having to wonder what his thoughts were, is part of the charm of the way the story unfolds. There are so many wonderful characters that enter into the story along the way (I particularly loved Charles Musgrove and Admiral Croft), and I loved the contrast between Anne’s immediate family (Sir Walter and Elizabeth) and the Uppercross set through her sister’s marriage (the Musgroves, et al.), and the way Anne came to prefer not only the company at Uppercross, but the style of living as well, leaving her further removed from a family that had little regard for her anyway. Great Story!

Edition Notes:

This Starbooks Special Illustrated Edition with Literary History and Criticism is the best ebook version of Persuasion that I’ve found. It is organized for optimum maneuverability, is prettily arranged, very readable, includes illustrations by the Brock brothers combining the illustrations from their various editions, and includes the literary history and criticism section from The Cambridge History of English and American Literature, as well as the original Chapters 10 & 11 of Volume II (of which Chapter 10 was ultimately replaced with Chapters 22 & 23, leaving Chapter 11 of Volume II (or Chapter 24) largely unchanged as the last chapter. For a standalone copy, this is it, but if you are looking for an ebook collection of Jane Austen’s novels, I’d recommend The Complete Illustrated Novels of Jane Austen by MobileReference.

Quotes:

“—they were neither of them able to devise any means of lessening their expenses without compromising their dignity, or relinquishing their comforts in a way not to be borne.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 1

“She considered it as an act of indispensable duty to clear away the claims of creditors with all the expedition which the most comprehensive retrenchments could secure, and saw no dignity in anything short of it.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 2

“To live no longer with the decencies even of a private gentleman! No, he would sooner quit Kellynch Hall at once, than remain in it on such disgraceful terms.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 2

“—he might there be important at comparatively little expense.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 2

“I never saw quite so wretched an example of what a sea-faring life can do; but to a degree, I know it is the same with them all: they are all knocked about, and exposed to every climate, and every weather, till they are not fit to be seen.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 3

“In fact, as I have long been convinced, though every profession is necessary and honourable in its turn, it is only the lot of those who are not obliged to follow any, who can live in a regular way, in the country, choosing their own hours, following their own pursuits, and living on their own property, without the torment of trying for more; it is only their lot, I say, to hold the blessings of health and a good appearance to the utmost; I know no other set of men but what lost something of their personableness when they cease to be quite young.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 3

“A lady, without a family, was the very best preserver of furniture in the world.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 3

“She was persuaded that under every disadvantage of disapprobation at home, and every anxiety attending his profession, all their probable fears, delays, and disappointments, she should yet have been a happier woman in maintaining the engagement, than she had been in the sacrifice of it.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 4

“She had been forced into prudence in her youth, she learned romance as she grew older: the natural sequel of an unnatural beginning.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 4

“—an agreeable manner may set off handsome features, but can never alter plain ones.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 5

“So, you are come at last! I began to think I should never see you. I am so ill I can hardly speak. I have not seen a creature the whole morning!” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 5

“—it is very bad to have children with one that one is obligated to be checking every moment; ‘don’t do this,’ and ‘don’t do that,’ or that one can only keep in tolerable order by more cake than is good for them.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 6

“Dear me! that’s a very good thought, very good, indeed.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 7

“They had been once more in the same room.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 7

“—there could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in union, no countenances so beloved.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 8

“I had no more discoveries to make then you would have as to the fashion and strength of any old pelisse, which you had seen lent about among half your acquaintance ever since you could remember, and which at last, on some very wet day, is lent to yourself.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 8

“We none of us expect to be in smooth water all our days.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 8

“—he repeated, with such tremulous feeling, the various lines which imaged a broken heart, or a mind destroyed by wretchedness—she thought it was the misfortune of poetry to be seldom safely enjoyed by those who enjoyed it completely; and that the strong feelings which alone could estimate it truly were the very feelings which ought to taste it but sparingly.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 11

“—nor could she help fearing, on more serious reflections, that, like many other great moralists and preachers, she had been eloquent on a point in which her own conduct would ill bear examination.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 11

“He had frequently observed, as he walked, that one handsome face would be followed by thirty, or five-and-thirty frights; and once, as he had stood in a shop on Bond Street, he had counted eighty-seven women go by, one after another, without there being a tolerable face among them.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 15

“She felt that she could so much more depend upon the sincerity of those who sometimes looked or said a careless or a hasty thing, than of those whose presence of mind never varied, whose tongue never slipped.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 17

“Benwick sits at her elbow, reading verses, or whispering to her, all day long.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 22

“I am not one of those who neglect the reigning power to bow to the rising sun. If I would not go for the sake of your father, I should think it scandalous to go for the sake of his heir.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 22

“When any two young people take it into their heads to marry, they are pretty sure by perseverance to carry their point, be they ever so poor, or ever so imprudent, or ever so little likely to be necessary to each other’s ultimate comfort.” -Jane Austen, Persuasion, Chapter 24

Movie Adaptations:

Persuasion (1995)

Amanda Root, Ciarán Hinds, Sophie Thompson

Movie Rating: PG

My Rating: 5 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

This adaption holds very closely to the book, with a few minor changes, and the casting, in my opinion, was absolutely perfect (though I preferred the Mr. Elliot from the 2007 version). This adaption, like the other, incorporates the events of the original chapter 10 of volume II (Adm. Croft asking Frederick to offer a removal from Kellynch given the rumor of Anne’s engagement to Mr. Elliot) that was removed as well as those of the two chapters that ultimately replaced it. This version is slower paced than other and portrayed in a more sedate manner (not quite as dramatic or sensational). One of my favorite movies!

Persuasion (TV Movie 2007)

Sally Hawkins, Rupert Penry-Jones, Tobias Menzies

Movie Rating: NR

My Rating: 5 Stars

Adaption: Verbatim-Tweaked-Veiled

Eye Candy: Plain-Pretty-Sultry

This version is visually breathtaking and dramatically portrayed (Anne picturesquely dashing about town in fear of losing her last chance at happiness). You get a bit more of Frederick’s feelings and thoughts along the way, which the book and the 1995 movie saved to reveal at the end, and I kind of liked that insight into Frederick here and there. This adaption, like the other, incorporates the events of the original chapter 10 of volume II that was removed as well as those of the two chapters that ultimately replaced it. I wasn’t as impressed with the casting in this version, but I liked who they chose for the two main characters, as well as Mr. Elliot and Capt. Harville, so I could put up with the others. I like this version mainly on its own worth—it is pretty and provides an interesting depiction of the story that I feel drawn to, despite the minor differences from the text.