Tag Archives: A Modern Day Persuasion

A Modern Day Persuasion – Kaitlin Saunders

I’m not sure what happened to April, May and June – a nit of a gap in the Jane Austen reviews!

I think Austen fans read Austen related texts for different reasons. Some read it for the romance, others for the period detail and others (myself included) for the wit and beautiful prose. I admire anyone trying to emulate Austen. The fans are a tricky group quick to criticize and slow to praise.

Ms Saunders has re-worked Persuasion in a modern Californian setting. Here is the blurb …

Nearly eight years ago, Anne’s family, specifically her father, convinced her that she was too young to wed and insinuated that her fiancé Rick was solely interested in her wealth and status. Against her better judgment, Anne agreed to postpone the marriage, only to watch the love of her life walk away, never to be heard from again. Almost a decade later, still single and no longer wealthy, Anne struggles to make a name for herself designing greeting cards. Unable to move on with her life, she finds herself still emotionally bound to the man who disappeared the moment things didn’t go his way. Through a series of serendipitous events, however, Anne is reunited with her old love—just as a new beau enters the scene. Only time will tell if her heart can finally be set free to love again, or if Rick’s initial betrayal will leave her single…forever.

The plot follows Persuasion closely although with a modern twist. For example, Rick Wentworth is a successful novelist. The re-invention of some classic Austen scenes was very well-handled. In particular, the scene where Lady Dalrymple’s carriage collects Miss Eliott and Mrs Clay, but there is no room for Anne, because it is raining is replaced with Elizabeth’s car breaking down and Missy Dee arriving just in time to save Elizabeth and Susan.

If you love Austen for the romance, then this is the novel for you.

Here is the author’s website which has links to other reviews.

 

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Filed under Persuason, Re-Interpretation