Persuasion (Austen)

Book Reviews
(Older books have few, if any, mainstream press reviews online. See Amazon and Barnes & Noble for helpful customer reviews.)

Critics, especially [recently], value Persuasion highly, as the author’s most deeply felt fiction, the novel which in the end the experienced reader of Jane Austen puts at the head of the list.... Anne wins back Wentworth and wins over the reader; we may, like him, end up thinking Anne’s character "perfection itself."
Judith Terry - Modern Library Ed. (cover image—top-right)

On the most basic level Persuasion is a love story, both interesting and entertaining. On a deeper level it examines human foibles and societal flaws. The question of the importance of propriety is raised frequently as is the issue of appearance vs. reality.... Family relationships and duty to family are both foci of the story. Within this family context relationships between men and women are examined...
Diana Mitchell - Penguin Group USA (From the Teacher's Guide)