I don’t think I’d read Persuasion by Jane Austen, before. I have seen versions as movies. But I hadn’t read it. Now that I have, the only one left is Mansfield Park.

Synopsis: Anne Eliot is a lonely, isolated almost-spinster at 27. She was engaged, 8 years ago, to a man she loved. But that man had no money and no title, only dreams and aspirations as a navy man. Turns out he made good on those dreams and aspirations, but it was too late for Anne, who had been persuaded by her godmother to break the engagement and move on. Yet here she sits, still pining, still single, still under the same roof as her vain, shallow, spendthrift father and eldest sister. When their ways with money requires them to rent their estate home and chill for a while in Bath, several families are affected by the change in seasons… including Wentworth’s. Which means Anne and Wentworth will have to cross paths once again.

Persuasion is considered Austen’s most mature work. (It was the last one she completed before she died at 41.) It is short for her. It is also more mellow, more subdued. I enjoyed reading it. There isn’t any Austen that I’ve read that I don’t admire. Austen was a genius. She just wrote, without some sort of fancy training, without some sort of writing community, probably without much support at all. And she nailed it, page after page after page. She was innovative and thoughtful, a master of writing character and nuanced situations. Also humor. (Persuasion is the least humorous with the least off-the-wall side characters. Which means, despite its length, it’s probably not the one to begin with.)

Austen published only six novels, four during her lifetime and two posthumously (as “A Lady.” There are also stories (and a novella) from her childhood out there (Lady Susan and Juvenília) and a novel that was incomplete (Sanditon/Sandiston). Since she’s the mother of romance and the master of regency comedy of manners, there are many movies and book adaptations, not to mention swag and festivals and whatnot. Persuasion had three notable movie adaptations and only a handful of book adaptations. (See below.) (Emma and Pride and Prejudice are the favorites for adaptations.)

This year is the 250th anniversary of her birth, which is why our book club chose to read her. Look for celebrations toward the end of the year.

Her books:

• Sense and Sensibility
• Pride and Prejudice
• Emma
• Persuasion (published posthumously)
• Northanger Abbey
• Mansfield Park (published posthumously)

The book adaptations of Persuasion that might be worth checking out:

• Find Wonder in All Things, Karen M. Cox
• So Rough a Course, Laura Hile
• Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason, Helen Fielding
• The Dragons of Kellynch, Maria Grace
• Hopeful, Louise Bay

It’s hard even to critique a master like Jane Austen, but there were a few things that weren’t so perfect about Persuasion. The beginning was a little dull. More than that, the story begins with the wrong character. I was confused for a while that Elizabeth was the main character, the voice of the book. (It’s not. It’s Anne Eliot.) Then I confused the three sisters’ histories. There are also some abrupt POV shifts. I suspect they fall within the bounds of the free indirect style POV—which Austen pioneered—but they were noticeably abrupt, and I don’t remember that from other books. And I found this romance a little less interesting than her earlier heroines and heroes. I’m afraid that what worked for me at all came from the movies I had seen beforehand. And it’s not because of the story, but because Anne is written more flatly. Is that the right word? I think so. She has these emotions and stakes and observations, but the reader is farther removed from them than usual, as if reading through cotton. Maybe the motivations are less clear?

Note: Austen first wrote the ending different, but the ending we have now is her edited changes. She meant to publish Persuasion with more peripheral characters and the infamous letter of declaration.

But, I mean, when you stand Persuasion next to just about any other book out there, it still comes out on top. It’s a slow burn, which is usual, and the tension is in glances and missed connections. I suppose if you don’t understand much about Regency England, you might be lost here. In the end, I can’t fault Austen for anything. When I return to her work, I am so happy having to work a little for my understanding, being ushered into this familiar and different world, like returning home (or to Avonlea or Hogwarts). I love feeling like I am sitting just behind Austen’s shoulder (or Anne’s, or Elizabeth’s, or Marianne’s, or Emma’s, or Fanny’s, or Catherine’s), narration coming to me behind a cupped, gloved hand. Austen is so smart, so witty, so interesting. It’s a shame there are only six novels, but I doubt I will ever tire of them.

Note: I have begun collecting the novels in a cloth-bound set, since I am likely to re-read them.

The 1995 movie version sticks pretty close to the original material. The 2007 BBC version is likewise fairly accurate. I can’t tell you which of these two I like better. There are always scenes and characters to like more than in the other. I found both Annes to be too plain (because although Anne is a very “normal” lady, she attracts attention from suitors somehow, just by sight). I would recommend both of them. They are not my favorite Austen movies.

The 2022 movie is a modernized version, even though it takes place (supposedly) in Regency England. Anne is suddenly a cheeky lush who loves sharing an eye roll with the audience. I know it’s not right, but despite it over-explaining a bit, I enjoy this version every time I watch it. Not for any sort of accuracy. Just for fun. Well, and some characters shine here, especially Mary.

I tried to watch Modern Persuasion (2020). But not only did my streaming keep crashing, it was pretty appalling. I was interested in what they were doing here and with the leads. But it was so cheaply done that you couldn’t not notice it. I mean, the pregnant belly on the sister? Now I’m the one eye-rolling. The idea is that Anne is a family-employee at some ad agency, her brother the CEO and the other family involved. The love interest is an ex who is soliciting them for an ad campaign, now that he’s a wealthy tech bro. Yeah, it might work, but it’s just cheesy. If you don’t care, then try it out.

I did not watch the 1971 TV miniseries. It’s old. It doesn’t have incredible reviews. The 90s were really a great time for making classic books come alive, so I started there.