About the author (2018)

Jane Austen's life is striking for the contrast between the great works she wrote in secret and the outward appearance of being quite dull and ordinary. Austen was born in the small English town of Steventon in Hampshire, and educated at home by her clergyman father. She was deeply devoted to her family. For a short time, the Austens lived in the resort city of Bath, but when her father died, they returned to Steventon, where Austen lived until her death at the age of 41. Austen was drawn to literature early, she began writing novels that satirized both the writers and the manners of the 1790's. Her sharp sense of humor and keen eye for the ridiculous in human behavior gave her works lasting appeal. She is at her best in such books as Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), in which she examines and often ridicules the behavior of small groups of middle-class characters. Austen relies heavily on conversations among her characters to reveal their personalities, and at times her novels read almost like plays. Several of them have, in fact, been made into films. She is considered to be one of the most beloved British authors.

Introduction
Persuasion is a novel by Jane Austen in which the 27-year-old Anne Russell, who broke off a youthful engagement with Captain Frederick Wentworth, reconciles with him before the two again become engaged. Years after their engagement, Anne and Wentworth meet again. Anne still cares for him, but he is aloof to her.

Anne is courted by her cousin, Mr. William Elliot, a widower, though Anne is not interested in Elliott, Wentworth is jealous of Elliot's interest in Anne. Wentworth writes Anne a long, emotional letter, and soon they are engaged again.