Persuasion

I have not one but two massive complete volumes of Jane Austen's work. I have been meaning to read Persuasion a few times but I can never seem to get to the end of the book since that would meaning moving past Pride and Prejudice, and that is just wrong. This gave me the perfect excuse to move past that novel (shock!!) and on to one that I have not read. 

Let me just say that I am a Jane Austen fan, my mother showed me the BBC version of Pride and Prejudice starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and it was all over. I quickly got my hands on her novels and then bought the huge collection of all her novels. One is now water-damaged and coffee stained (which just shows that it is loved) and the other I am determined to keep nice. 

Persuasion was very good, I read it faster then I thought that I would. Of course it helped having an 8 hour car ride to Colorado to help me out. I was drawn into the story. You can tell that this was one of the last novels she wrote because her heroine is an unmarried "older" woman. Older in this case being 27 or 28, which then was considered pretty old to still not be married. The story follows Anne, a quiet, smart and gracious woman, her family is proud and pompous and pretty rude on most occasions. She is really the only member of the family that is truly respected. She is not drop-dead gorgeous, however she is smart and witty and gracious and a good person to know. As the second sister in the "rich family" of the neighborhood she is expected to marry for money partly because her older sister has not married and since the family may have a good name but not enough money. At the age of 20 she meets and agrees to marry a man that her family does not approve of because he has neither money or a good name. She is persuaded to break the engagement and he leaves, declaring that he will make his fortune and leaving behind hurt feelings. When Anne is 28 and her families situation is so bad that they have to rent out their house, he comes back. A Captain and he has made his fortune. He does not seem interested in Anne but it is Austen and happy ending abound for all.

I love the way Austen titles her books. They all have something to do with emotions that are prevalent in the  novel itself. Pride and Prejudice was named because of the two characteristics that are displayed by the hero and heroine. Sense and Sensibility describes the attributes needed to make good informed decisions. Persuasion was named because Anne was persuaded by those around her to not marry the man that she loved when she had the first chance and because of this, was unhappy for several years. Austen's characters are always so well developed and their actions actually go along with their personality. While reading, I see many people that I know represented in the characters of the book. I also love the language, it flows. A Jane Austen novel has its own feel to the writing and the vocabulary that is used. Her stories are always critiquing society or presenting a message for the reader. The message that I get from this novel is to be yourself, love the person you love and if your family doesn't agree, that is not always a bad thing. I could go on with all the different lessons and social critiques that I found in this novel because I am a really big nerd, but I am going to leave it, and you should go read it yourself.

This was the last novel that Austen fully completed, and it is worth reading! 

Next up is The Hitchhikers Guide to the Universe because I was still in Colorado and it hitched a ride in my bag without my knowledge.