“Anne Elliot, heroine of Austen’s novel, did something we can all
relate to…she let the love of her life get away. In this
case, she had allowed herself to be persuaded by a trusted family friend
that the young man she loved wasn’t an adequate match, social
stationwise, and that Anne could do better. The novel opens some seven
years after Anne sent her beau packing, and she’s still alone. But then
the guy she never stopped loving comes back from the sea. As always,
Austen’s storytelling is so confident, you can’t help but allow yourself
to be taken on the enjoyable journey.”

“Though dominated by the intelligent,
sweet voice of Anne Elliot, the least favored but most worthy of three
daughters in a family with an old name but declining fortunes…She reads
Anne’s haughty father’s lines with a mixture of stuffiness and bluster,
and Anne’s sisters are portrayed with a hilariously flighty, breathy
register that makes Austen’s contempt for them palpable. Anne’s voice is
mostly measured and reasonable—an expression of her strong mind and
spirit—but Stevenson imbues her speech with wonderful shades of passion
as Anne is reacquainted with Capt. Wentworth, whom she has continued to
love despite being forced, years before, to reject him over status
issues…a sudden encounter
with Wentworth, one hardly needs Austen’s description of how Anne grows
faint, [this] perfectly judged and deeply felt reading has already
shown that she must have. Even those who have read Austen’s novels will
find themselves loving this book all over again.”