Persuasion
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Publisher Description
Anne Elliot is the second of three daughters of vain, snobbish Sir Walter, a spendthrift baronet obliged to let his country house and move to Bath to pay his debts. Eight years before the story begins, Anne was briefly engaged to a naval officer, Frederick Wentworth, but was persuaded to break off the engagement by her godmother, Lady Russell, on grounds of prudence, a decision Anne has regretted ever since. At twenty-seven, she is now faded and thin, and life seems to have passed her by; nobody now seems to expect her to marry.
Jane Austen was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Stevenson has read all of Austen's novels for audiobook, in abridged or unabridged versions, and her experience shows in this delightful production. Though dominated by the intelligent, sweet voice of Anne Elliot the least favored but most worthy of three daughters in a family with an old name but declining fortunes Stevenson provides other characters with memorable voices as well. She reads Anne's haughty father's lines with a mixture of stuffiness and bluster, and Anne's sisters are portrayed with a hilariously flighty, breathy register that makes Austen's contempt for them palpable. Anne's voice is mostly measured and reasonable an expression of her strong mind and spirit but Stevenson imbues her speech with wonderful shades of passion as Anne is reacquainted with Capt. Wentworth, whom she has continued to love despite being forced, years before, to reject him over status issues. Listening to Stevenson, as Anne, describe a sudden encounter with Wentworth, one hardly needs Austen's description of how Anne grows faint Stevenson's perfectly judged and deeply felt reading has already shown that she must have. Even those who have read Austen's novels will find themselves loving this book all over again with Stevenson's evocative rendition ringing richly in their ears.
Customer Reviews
Jane Austin?!?
This edition is so carefully put together that the yahoos who released it couldn't be bothered to double-check the spelling of the author's last name. Idiots.