In anticipation of the inaugural meeting of the Civitas Book Club, we present the following reasons everyone should read our book of choice, Persuasion. Please join us on Saturday, October 19!
1. It’s written by Jane Austen
Jane Austen is famous for her insights into human nature and her witty narrative voice. Her humor manages to be both dry (she can be very sarcastic!) and charitable (human foibles amuse and even charm her). Much of this humor flows naturally out of her portrayal of character—and those characters, whether major or minor, are always engrossing and appealing. Jane Austen is a preeminently humane author.
2. It’s mellow and autumnal
Jane Austen’s last completed novel, Persuasion is a mature and thoughtful work, sometimes described as “autumnal.” Unlike her other five novels, it is not a coming-of-age story about a heroine just entering the adult world but instead follows the experience of a heroine who has been an adult for several years. The tone is mellow and quiet—much like Anne Elliot herself—yet reaches heights of sober beauty and poignance that set it apart from Austen’s more bubbly and exuberant earlier works.
3. It’s a Cinderella story
Persuasion tells the story of someone who is virtuous and intelligent but has been overlooked and largely unloved her whole life. We as readers come to love and root for Anne Elliot—not just because she is the underdog, but also because she is genuinely kind, self-sacrificing, and wise. Throughout the course of the novel, she finds a community of people who esteem and admire her as she deserves. And to make it even more satisfying, the plot ties up with something like a “rags to riches” finale.
4. It has a fascinating historical context
Persuasion is notable among Jane Austen’s novels for its definite historical setting—the year 1814, towards the end of the Napoleonic Wars that had plunged Europe into chaos for more than a decade. Several characters in Persuasion are officers in the Royal Navy, though we see them on land, not sea—enjoying a lull in the hostilities before Napoleon’s final defeat in 1815. Inviting us to admire their pluck, good humor, and decency, the novel sets their brotherhood up as an ideal community that contrasts starkly with the vanity and conceit of Anne Elliot’s family.