Persuasion
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Persuasion
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Narrated by:
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Olivia Williams
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By:
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Jane Austen
About this listen
Persuasion tells the story of one of the most popular of literary heroines, the glorious Anne Eliot. Persuaded out of marrying the man she loves due to his not being a good enough match, Anne calmly and wittily takes us through her journey from her life as the middle daughter of a spendthrift and vain baronet through a sojourn in the marriage market that the City of Bath became in the 19th century to a final and merry resolution of the long search for the ideal match.
Life as an unmarried woman at the advanced and spinsterish age of 27 was something well known to Austen. She remained unmarried throughout her life, and Anne Elliot’s development of enough confidence in her own views to resist the persuasions of a society devoted to social advancement at the expense of happiness can be seen as a declaration by Austen of her own views on the matter. She writes of a countryside she knows and loves, and even the sojourn in Bath is taken from the author's own not entirely happy time in that city of gossip and intrigue.
Austen was 40 when she wrote Persuasion, and it was written in the knowledge that her health was beginning to decline seriously, with the onset of the disease of which she would die a year after finishing the novel. Her brother, Henry, published the novel posthumously in 1818, with his own money at stake in its publishing; he also made the decision to put an end to the anonymous nature of Austen's published works and declare the name of the author.
That name has become synonymous with a dryness of wit and a merriness of view that are perfectly encapsulated in the delight that is Persuasion.
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What listeners say about Persuasion
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 18-08-21
Loved it
One of my absolute favourites from Jane Austen and Olivia Williams narration was perfect. She gave such life to the characters particularly conveying the strong, warm feelings Anne and Frederick have for each other, bubbling just below the surface! Very well done 👏
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 30-12-22
Incomparable Jane Austen
To paraphrase what Walter Scott said: interest is maintained so that unspectacular events make the reader ever anxious to “turn the next page”.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Kate
- 13-08-23
Excellent narration
The excellent nuances in the narration of this old favourite makes it come to life!! Loved it!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-05-23
The perfect miniature
Persuasion was one of the first classic novels I read and certainly the first of Austin's. One of the least known, perhaps because it lacks some of the humour and high romance of the bigger titles such as Emma and Pride and Prejudice, it nevertheless draws you in.
Olivia Williams reads this very well, in particular capturing perfectly the restrained but feeling Anne Elliot, with only the occasional stumble (which one feels could have been edited and fixed with slightly more scrupulous production values).
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 01-10-23
Excellent
Another way of of thoroughly enjoying a well loved story, written by such a clever and gifted writer and beautifully narrated.
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance1 out of 5 stars
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Story2 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 16-12-17
Not great narration
I love Jane Austin books sadly the narrator keeps stumbling over words and paragraphs, which considerably lessens the flow and enjoyment of the book
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3 people found this helpful