Persuasion

Persuasion by Jane Austen is the last the she finished before her death. It is a wonderful book full of the romance, propriety, and suspense that she is known for. Our book club chose this book to finish out our selections for the year, and I'm pleased to have been introduced to Austen's work again. I have seen a couple of movies inspired by her novels, but I had not, until Persuasion, read any of her works myself. I liked this one so much that now I have to go back and read her entire collection.

In case I wasn't hooked already, a book club member lent me Becoming Jane, the new movie about Jane Austen's search for love as a young woman. The film is good - I love anything with James McAvoy - and I think it is quite true to life, given what we know about the circumstances during the 18th century. She was writing in a time when women did not write, and when the novel was still a new and not-quite-respected art form. I do not think that Austen was writing only for women, but I recommend this book to women especially because it's hard not to be swept up in her prose, strong female characters, and satisfactory endings. That Persuasion is still being read is a testament to her success as an author. I think every woman can read Austen as a reminder that she, too, can change the world.