When was Persuasion published?

Reader reviews of Persuasion

Idalis · 2026-08-07T02:36:03.000000Z

This was such an interesting read. When I was first reading this book, I couldn’t help but feel very lost and confused for a little bit. This might have been because there was a lot of slow progression at the beginning of the book. That blurred the lines between which day was which, so it was a little bit of a struggle for me to keep up with the feeling staying throughout the whole read. I just felt like there was always something I was missing, and then it got to that one part, which was like a subsection written by one of the characters, and it was so beautiful. It almost felt surprised when it happened, like omg some plot. I immediately tuned back in acutely and found that this was basically the end of the book when this was happening, talk about a slow burn! I didn’t realize is that this was a slow burn until basically the last 10% of the book. I finish reading the book and I felt like there was something I was still missing so I went ahead and looked at some analysis of it a.k.a. spark notes to go over some parts that were still up in the air for me and it turned this 2.75/3-star review into a 3.75/4. I understand the connecting themes and what Austen was saying about these themes. At first, I only noticed that specific themes and motifs were being brought about, and I was acknowledging them, but I wasn’t connecting it to the story and in that I failed to connect the story to what Austen was trying to say. Now that I’ve been able to understand the context of this book a bit better, I can appreciate what Austen was trying to say. It bored me a little bit because of the consistent talk of society (but I understand that’s the central theme to the book, but society back then is something that I’m so disconnected from) in any degree that it reads a bit dull for me, but I understand the setting of the novel. Austen’s take on the dynamics between partners have a balance that is their own, not that of the scales as a society as a whole. But that goes beyond just relationships, rather on the relationship between individuals and the society that take part in. Does is contribute to the monotony of what is, or realize its potential to change the status quo?

Persuasion was published on December 20, 1817, six months after Jane Austen's death, in a four-volume set together with Northanger Abbey. The title page of that first edition is dated 1818. Persuasion was the last novel Austen completed; the title itself was chosen by her brother Henry for the posthumous publication.

Persuasion by Jane Austen

Eight years ago, Anne Elliot was persuaded by family and friends to break off her engagement to Frederick Wentworth, a naval officer with no fortune and uncertain prospects. She has regretted it ever since. Now twenty-seven and quietly overlooked in her vain, spendthrift family, Anne watches as their debts force them to let out the ancestral estate and economize in Bath.

Fate returns Wentworth to her circle, now a wealthy and admired captain, seemingly indifferent to the woman who once refused him and openly courted by younger, livelier girls. Anne, steady and self-effacing, must endure his coolness and her own undimmed feelings while navigating the small humiliations of a family that undervalues her.

Persuasion was the last novel Jane Austen completed, published after her death in 1817. Quieter and more autumnal than her earlier work, it is a story of constancy, second chances, and the slow vindication of a woman who feels deeply but says little, widely loved as Austen's most tender romance.

J

Jane Austen

Jane Austen (1775–1817) was an English novelist whose six major novels examine the social and economic realities facing women in the landed gentry of Georgian England. Born at Steventon in Hampshire, she published anonymously: Sense and Sensibility (1811) appeared "By a Lady", and Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1815) followed without her name on them. She died at Winchester in 1817, aged 41; Northanger Abbey and Persuasion were issued together later that...

Anne ElliotProtagonist

A quietly steadfast woman who has regretted, for eight years, the broken engagement she was persuaded into.

Captain Frederick WentworthProtagonist

A self-made naval officer, now wealthy, who once loved Anne and was refused.

Sir Walter ElliotSupporting

Anne's vain, spendthrift father.

Lady RussellSupporting

The family friend who once persuaded Anne to end the engagement.

Mr William ElliotSupporting

Anne's charming cousin and heir to her father's estate, whose true motives are not what they seem.

All characters in Persuasion

Frequently asked questions

When was Persuasion published?
Persuasion was published on December 20, 1817, six months after Jane Austen's death, in a four-volume set together with Northanger Abbey. The title page of that first edition is dated 1818. Persuasion was the last novel Austen completed; the title itself was chosen by her brother Henry for the posthumous publication.