Persuasion was Austen’s last novel, and is considered to be one of her most stylistically mature works. The classic love story centres on Anne Elliot, an unmarried 27-year-old woman who is forced to move to Bath with her family after a bout of extravagant spending puts their finances on the line. There, she crosses paths with an old love: the 31-year-old Captain Wentworth, with whom she was forced to break off a proposal seven years earlier due to his low social status. The newly successful Wentworth, who has won prominence fighting against France in the Napoleonic WarsA series of wars (between 1803 and 1815) between the French Empire under Napoleon and differing European powers. , throws Anne into a tailspin of emotion, and the two grapple with their enduring feelings for each other. The novel was adapted into a sparkling, part-modernised Netflix film in 2022, proving its appeal to modern audiences.
Persuasion
Glossary
Napoleonic Wars - A series of wars (between 1803 and 1815) between the French Empire under Napoleon and differing European powers.
Status quo - A Latin phrase referring to the current or present situation.
Genteel - Very polite and refined. Having an aristocratic quality.
Landed gentry - A largely historical British social class consisting of land owners who could live entirely from rental income. It was distinct from, and socially “below”, the aristocracy or the peerage, although in fact some of the landed gentry were as wealthy as some peers.
Eponymous - Things that are named after a person or place, etc.
Pernicious - Harmful.
Pauper - A very poor person.