Persuasion

Persuasion, published posthumously in 1818, is Jane Austen’s last novel. Like the earlier works it is a tale of love and marriage, told with the irony, insight, and sane evaluation of human conduct which sets her writing apart. But the starting-point is a new one, the tone a little more sombre. Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth have met and separated years before Their reunion forces a recognition of the false values that drove them apart. The characters who embody these values are the objects of some of the most withering satire that Jane Austen ever wrote.