Persuasion

Critics Review

• “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.”

  Amazon.com, editorial review

• “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.”

  Publishers Weekly