English Masterworks Library / Persuasion

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot was persuaded by friends and family to break off her engagement to the man she loved—a penniless naval officer named Frederick Wentworth. It was a decision that has haunted her ever-increasingly, leaving her a woman of quiet regret in a family of fading importance. But the tides have turned. Captain Wentworth returns from the Napoleonic Wars with a fortune and a distinguished reputation, looking for a wife. As fate forces them back into each other’s social circles, Anne must endure the silent agony of watching the man she rejected court others, while she grapples with the weight of her past "persuasion." Jane Austen’s final completed novel is her most mature and deeply felt work. It is a brilliant study of second chances, the endurance of love, and the courage it takes to listen to one's own heart over the voices of society. A hauntingly beautiful tale of lost love found again.