Not a big fan of Austen ? Obliged to widen your knowledge of 19th century literature ? Yes, that’s a common case. However do not despair. Be patient with Jane Austen’s last finished novel and you might find that before long you will have yielded to its charming spell.

To give you an idea, this is how it goes :

Anne Eliott is 19 when her close friend, Lady Russell, persuades her to break off her engagement to a young man with neither family nor fortune. Some years later (eight to be precise), Anne and Frederick Wentworth (her lover) are thrown back into each other’s company. He has made his fortune at war and is now described as "the most handsomest man that ever was to be seen" ; the toast of every young lady’s eye. Unfortunately, he still can’t get over Anne’s refusal and Anne herself is full of remorse. So he becomes entangled with Louisa Musgrove while Anne receives the attentions of Mr. Eliott, her cousin, who intends to marry her. Yet it doesn’t take long for those attentions of his to become UNwelcome and for Anne to realize that her cousin is in fact a "disingenuous, artificial man." How, then, will Anne get her Wentworth when it seems that their only chance of happiness is about to slip away... again ?

Even if you are not accustomed to 19th century "exchanges of civil manners required" and get stuck between Austen’s long and complicated sentences, you should give "Persuasion" a go and see what you can make of it. Just crawl into bed after a warm bath and hopefully you might recognize yourself in this delightful satire of polite English society. Ever-lasting love, untiring remorse and impossible hopes for the future are never lacking. I especially enjoyed Jane Austen’s approach of the feelings of young women at the time. I realized that after all, people haven’t changed that much.