Persuasion

2011 Reprint of 1899 Edition. Persuasion is widely appreciated as a moving love story despite what has been labeled as a simple plot and exemplifies Austens acclaimed wit and ironic narrative style. It is the first of Austens novels to feature as the central character a woman who by the standards of the time is well past the first bloom of youth. The novel is often described as a great Cinderella story. All the similarities between the fairy story and Austens novel are there; a heroine who is generally unappreciated by those around her; a handsome prince who arrives but seems more interested in the more obvious charms of the Musgrove girls than the more steady charms offered by Anne; a moment of realization and the final happy ending when those who did not appreciate have time to realize what they have lost.