This week saw the launch of the final episode of our hit podcast Jane Austen’s Paper Trail (although a bonus Q&A episode is coming in January for any Austen fans experiencing withdrawal).
Episode six is devoted to Austen’s last novel – and my favourite – Persuasion, which tells the story of lovelorn Anne Elliot who has missed her chance of happiness after being persuaded to give up the man she loves for lack of wealth and prospects. Seven years later, Anne is still pining and aching with regret, when Frederick Wentworth re-enters her life as a rich and successful naval captain.
Considered Austen’s most melancholy novel, it is little wonder one of our academic experts, John Mullan, states in the podcast: “If you’re under 40 your favourite Austen novel is Pride & Prejudice, after 40, it’s Persuasion.” It is a novel that resonates with those who have experienced the pain of loss and heartbreak.
