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Title: Persuasion by Jane Austen, Glenda Jackson ISBN: 0787101044 Publisher: Dove Books Audio Pub. Date: September, 1994 Format: Audio Cassette Volumes: 4 List Price(USD): $19.95 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.27
Rating: 5
Summary: An enchanting and entertaining read
Comment: Jane Austen's "Persuasion" accomplishes the feat of rewarding both extremely casual and deeper, more analytical readings. It certainly contains enough genuine insight into humanity, and social relationships in particular, to be considered a "serious" novel. But "Persuasion" defies the stereotype that accompanies this genre. Rather than being ponderous and solemn, it is instead a work of sheer joy to read. Readers are treated to a complex novel that reads like a summer beach book.
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of "Persuasion" is how it balances the depth and richness with pure entertainment. Anne, her sisters, her father, and of course Captain Wentworth, are all very complex and fully fleshed-out characters. At the same time, however, they are all delightful people to read about. Anne in particular is charming and compassionate. Austen's prose is wonderful; witty, intelligent, and clear. And the story itself, a tale of people in love, is universal in its appeal and yet never once becomes formulaic. The novel, then, is a fantastic success in every possible way. It provides the richness of great literature with the charm of the greatest writers. I can't recommend "Persuasion" highly enough.
Rating: 3
Summary: "TREASURES OF THE HEART"
Comment: Published a few years after the acclaimed PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, this novel paints an intimate portrait of country gentry in
early 19th century England. Describing the social milieus with which she was so familiar, Austen alternates the plot development between modest estates and the seaside resorts of Lyme and Bath. Travel aand communication proved serious obstacles, so letters and notes were the more prized and preserved. Austen weaves a tapestry of strict social customs,
explaining the value of keeping up appearances, of keeping one's place--which was clearly deliniated by time-honored class snobbery and ritual. Other themes which are quietly included:
be wary of schemers, evaluate the counsel of interfering extended famly, and do not trust superficial impressions.
Narrated in the usual third person, ths intense story revolves around Anne Elliot, the middle daughter of vain but impoverished Sir Walter. The author might well have chosen to make this a first person novel, since we always know what the modest
protagonist is doing, feeling and thinking. Austen gently ridicules the struggle between vanity and financial reality, as the family's streightened circumstances obliged them to rent out their beloved Kellynch Hall and take rooms in Bath. But where to find suitable tenants for the ancestral home? Their circle includes the neighboring Musgroves, whose son married the youngest Elliot daughter. Fortunately for the marriageable
girls, their limited horizons are expandaded by the arrival of three young naval captains--one of whom Anne was forced to renounce 7 years before. She represents the first victim of
of the art of familial persuasion. Yet her heart still beats fast at the mention of his name...
Austen presents many themes and events which also appear in her signature novel; she deftly reveals a woman's intimate understanding of her heroine's private torment. The social ritual between country gentry is almost ridiculous in their extreme scruples regarding proper behavior--even to their own relatives and in-laws. Austen exposes the time-honored web of duty an public behavior, even on vacation. One wonders if the women of Austen's day were taught--direclty or indirectly--to value their own "nothingness," as Anne puts it. Is a teachable heart (one that can be persuaded to reason, even in violation of its natural instincts, to be admired in that society? Or in our own time? Were Austen's women true Victorian ladies or more rational creatures than
male authors of the time generally portrayed them? Anne pounced upon the eternal argument which provoked the denouement: which of the genders is more (or less) "inconstant." These and many other soul-searching issues are elucidated in this short novel (225 pages) which should be evaluated by the standards of a by-gone era. Thoughtful readers must discern for themselves which truths are valid for all times; if they prove universal, then the work is a true classic. An insightful novel which will appeal to most caring women.
Rating: 5
Summary: MAGNIFICENT
Comment: Many would have Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" determine her status as one of the greatest of all novelists; however, this critic will always stand by the quiet and profound maturity that defines this lovely masterpiece "Persuasion." Here the characters are all terribly human and flawed and the narrative so touching without ever resorting to maudlin prose. There is an underlying sadness in this book which tells the reader that at some point in her life, Jane Austen loved deeply. This book is a celebration of that love; indeed, she would not have felt comfortable mourning it before her family or her readers. Therefore, instead of indulging in self-pity, Austen gratifies the soul by telling the story of one woman who refuses to sacrife her integrity and "secures" the man she loves in her way and in her time. This is more than a great read; it is truly a magnificent work.
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Title: Mansfield Park by Jane Austen, Margaret Drabble ISBN: 0451526295 Publisher: Signet Pub. Date: August, 1996 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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Title: Emma by Jane Austen ISBN: 0553212737 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: 01 January, 1984 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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Title: Sense and Sensibility (Oxford World's Classics) by Jane Austen, James Kinsley ISBN: 0192833588 Publisher: Oxford University Press Pub. Date: April, 1998 List Price(USD): $5.95 |
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Title: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen ISBN: 0553213105 Publisher: Bantam Pub. Date: December, 1983 List Price(USD): $4.95 |
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Title: Northanger Abbey (Penguin Classics) by Jane Austen, Marilyn Butler ISBN: 0140434135 Publisher: Penguin USA (Paper) Pub. Date: January, 1996 List Price(USD): $6.95 |
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