Book Report of Persuasion

Jane Austen is very popular in the world of literature. Her works are mainly about love and marriage in the countryside of England, among which Pride and Prejudice is the most widely appreciated. Persuasion is her last complete novel. It is a delightful satire of England’s landed gentry and a moving tale of lovers separated by class distinctions.

Anne Elliot is one of the three daughters of Sir Walter Elliot. The family is quite proud due to their relatively higher social status. Elizabeth, Anne’s elder sister, is her father’s favorite, and shares with him many characters. She is the mistress of Kellynch all the time since their mother died while Anne is nothing to the family. However, she was quite charming both in feature and character. She resembles her mother most and Lady Russell, her mother’s best friend loves her. One will surely like her if he knows the real her. When she was a girl, she fell in love with the young handsome naval officer Frederick Wentworth. But she was persuaded to leave him due to his lack of social status. Eight years later, the two lovers met again since Wentworth’s sister rented the Elliot’s house. He was now rich and very popular in the neighborhood. Anne, still unmarried, suffered a lot in seeing him court the younger Louisa Musgrove but she knew that Wentworth still had feelings for her. The two rekindled their love again and were happily married.

The story is touching and the character is quite impressing.

Superbly drawn, these characters and those of Anne’s prideful father, Sir Walter, the scheming Mrs Clay, and the duplicitous William Elliot, heir to Kellynch Hall, become luminously alive—so much so that the poet Tennyson, visiting historic Lyme Regis, where a pivotal scene occurs, exclaimed: “ don’t talk to me of the Duke of Munmouth. Show me the exact spot where Louisa Musgrove fell!”

Anne Elliot is a most delightful heroine. She possesses all the good characters a lady should have. She is beautiful, gentle, understanding. One can see what she is capable of in doing with Louisa Musgrove’s fall; one can also see her reach knowledge in her recommending books to captain Benwick; can also see her deep thoughts in arguing with captain Harville that women lasts longer in love than men.. She has won respect widely in the neighborhood. one is deeply moved in seeing her long love for Captain Wentworth. She waited for him for eight years. To a young girl, eight years mean the lost of beauty and charm. Yet she is reluctant to love others.

Jane Austen’s works are usually elegant, classical. Her language is beautiful. It is a enjoyment to read the original vision, to appreciate the English she had written. It is said that this novel is her favorite one and the story is a bit like her own life. It is amazing that though she is never married she can still provide us so many beautiful love stories.

In a busy world like this it is worth sitting down and reading such novels. To feel the quality of the paper, to feel the power of words can calm us down and raise our taste.