A review by morningtide
Persuasion by Jane Austen

emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

I think what I love most about this book, is Anne herself. She is just so patient, observant, and empathetic I can’t help but love her and hope the best for her. She has a lot of restraint that I think we all wish we had in dealing with family that can be quite ridiculous, as well as understanding the good intentions of people that may have persuaded you into the wrong decisions. I’m glad we get to know her so well since I feel like we barely learn about Captain Wentworth at all.

Thinking about it, I do appreciate that the focus is less on the love interest because I can spend most of the book hoping Anne gets her happy ending and not worrying about who it is with. And then when we learn more about certain characters backgrounds and get the added justification of knowing that Anne was just a bit more observant about peoples intentions, it made it all the more satisfying when everything worked out for her. 

This is my second time reading Persuasion, and this edition had annotations so I found that pretty interesting. I got a good mix of confirming things about etiquette I had already picked up from reading Austen's previous work as well as things that were new to me. It was fun to learn Austen's personal opinions on her approval of the navy and to see that portrayed in this book and wonder how much of an influence she had on readers at the time.