Persuasion (MacMillan Collector's Library)

This review is for the Chiltern Classics hardcover edition of Persuasion.I decided to celebrate Jane Austen's upcoming 250th birthday by rereading all of her novels. I have had my mismatched collection of her works in paperback since the late 80s and they are falling apart. So, I started researching what editions I wanted to buy to replace them.If you're in a similar situation and aren't sure what's out there, YouTube is a really great place to see your options. So much of what draws us to a specific edition/publisher is based on personal preferences. You have a lot of options!I wanted an edition that would last my lifetime, would spark joy when I looked at it, and it was important that the publisher had released editions of all of Austen's work.The Chiltern editions are decadent. The covers are embossed and have delightful metallic shimmers that sparkle when light hits them. These books have gold or silver gilt pages. Persuasion has gold. The books have an attached black silk bookmark. These editions are as tactilely appealling as they are visually captivating.The pages are thick and glossy. The book is heavy and feels more expensive than what I paid for it. Please note that they often are on sale here for less than the suggested retail price!I ordered Mansfield Park first because I think it is the prettiest. I've slowly added the rest of the collection to my shelf and love how exquisite they look grouped together. Persuasion was my last purchase because I wasn't thrilled with how it looked online. Please know that it is absolutely beautiful in person!If you've never seen the Chitern collection, visiting their website is a treat. I only have their editions of Jane Austen. However, their collection looks like a wall of art when it is shelved together.I love the bindings of Chiltern classics. They are sewn (not glued). They open flat without creasing the spine. They feel sturdy and are satisfying to hold. So far, I have had none of the exterior decorations/print rub off (that is a common complaint with another publishing house's edition!). When I carry any of these editions in my purse/bag, I slip them into a soft felt book slip case envelope with a snapped top to help protect them.I found the print in this book to be easy on my eyes. I'm in my mid-50s and extremely myopic. I can read this book with my progressives on without any issues. The glossy pages can create a glare under artificial light. Adjusting the angle of my reading lamp helped! I haven't had any issues with glare in natural lighting.If you are a habitual annotator, this might not be the correct edition for you. I can't bring myself to desecrate a page to test how ink performs on the glossy pages. However, this publisher does sell this book as a set with a matching journal and offers the journal for sale separately if you decide you want it after you've already bought the book. Since I haven't bought the journals, I don't know what type of paper they use. My old paperbacks are heavily annotated and I empathize with those of you who read with a pen in hand! This edition just feels too special to mark up! It also encourages me to simply enjoy the story!These editions do not contain illustrations. I knew that when I purchased them and not having them didn't bother me. These don't have scholarly introductions. They also do not include endnotes. (Hint...if these things are important to you, there are several other editions that contain all of these. Shapard's annotated series is great for readers who are new to Austen's work. Also, the Wordsworth classics paperback boxed set is illustrated and has notes and is usually under five dollars per book).I am very disappointed that Chiltern has not released an edition of Austen's juvenilia, Lady Susan, and Sanditon! Most publishers print these in one edition and I have my fingers crossed that Chiltern has plans to do this as well. Please? I didn't realize this omission until I had already fallen in love with my Mansfield Park copy.I am thrilled with my Chiltern edition of Persuasion. Reading the Chiltern editions of Jane Austen's novels is a perfect way to celebrate her 250th birthday!

This was an excellent book on many levels. I think in some ways I read it at the right time of my life, being the same age as the protagonists and filled with many of the very same sentiments and ideas. I’ll be honest and say that there is a repetitive quality if you’ve read other Jane Austen works (for myself that would be Pride and Prejudice), but I don’t feel as though that ever deterred me during my reading. In fact I found this book much more difficult to put down than Pride and Prejudice.Persuasion manages to be both a compelling and sweet love story between two people you can’t help but feel deserve happiness, and a great commentary on the things which persuade and shape people’s lives. There’s this wonderful, if at times blatantly obvious, struggle between the virtues and vices of both susceptibility to persuasion and firmness/obstinacy.It’s a more mature story (in whatever Regency Era England sense a 28 year old is considered “mature”) of love lost and enduring hope. Persuasion’s writing and prose had an incredible emotional depth I’d argue beyond that of Pride and Prejudice, and that depth made the characters really feel alive, and the pains and joys to be very real, even all these years after it was written.My few critiques revolve around the plot feeling partially predictable barring a couple shocking moments, but the real draw to this book is not the beats of the story so much as the poignant moments of love and hurt that speak to the reader’s personal experiences and understanding. I came away from Persuasion feeling satisfied with the depth of emotion I was compelled to feel, and feeling I learned a little of myself and my own ideas on persuasion and steadfastness. In my mind being able to take those things away from a novel sets it apart as something great.

I know why this is considered a classic. The language used. Contemporary novels will never be written like this. It is like reading from an artists eyes. The way sentences are written is very different to the way they are written now. A lot of thought went into each [sentence] or rather Jane Austin is so gifted it comes second nature.Now for the book summary and highlights. It was tough to get into. About the sixth chapter is starts getting interesting. Often you put down a book if the first chapter fails to capture the imagination, but with a 'classic' you need a little patience and endurance. It is worth the wait.This review is after reading the classics of War and Peace, Crime and Punishment, the Art of War, Moby Dick, Andre Norton's Saragasso Series, Charles Dickens' Our Mutual Friend, Secret Adversary by Agatha Christie, Confucius' Sayings, Common Sense by Thmas Paine, and Treasure Island (to give this context). You see I did not enjoy reading when I was young, but now older and with a 1.25 hour commute on the train (to Brisbane from Gold Coast) and back, I have time !Compared to Charles Dickens, it is an easier read. Charles' book was a tougher read and more complex but it did go into Persuasion but moreso into the realm of manipulation. If you enjopy Persuasion, you should read Dickens' book. Mind you Dickens' book is an even tougher read - I re-read the first seven chapters 3 times ! but it is definitely worth it. Like digging for gold - you struggle a lot, but when you find the gold it is like WOW !Anne Elliott is somewhat ignored by her family (Father Sir Walter and Sister Elizabeth). Her mother passes and their finances are in disarray. Miss Russell a confidant of Sir Walter contrives a scheme to boost their cashflow while moving them elsewhere with little impact to their social-life. Anne who is steadfast and reasonable and even tempered throughout the story demonstrates that not everyone can be manipulated and if you are even-tempered and reasonable, nothing will escape your obsveration.She comes across Mr Worthington (admiral) and initially she hopes to marry him, then the persuausive schemes start and you know throughout the whole book, I'm looking for acts of Persuasion to give this book meaning and the answer is found in the last chapter and Jane Austin neatly ties the story into a happy ending. Through acts behind the seen a third party is after Anne's affections and this person works in concert with other key characters until Anne bumps into an old friend Mrs Smith and the whole scheme is turned on its head !In truth, the major drama surrounds louisa who falls while being silly and nearly kills herself, but the way it is written that part seems trivial and it is used to free certain people and allow certain things to swing in motion. If only Mr Elliot was there sooner and saved Louisa.... There's a thought, then this story may have gone a differnet direction. Read this and see if this review makes any sense at all !?!