One of the shorter of Austen books, and I believe the last, I was shocked by how much this love story moved me. Anne Elliot, who, at a young age, was persuaded by her friends and family to give up on her love of the “unsuitable” Captain Wentworth, has never loved anyone else since. When he returns, her feelings for him show themselves to be as strong as ever. His anger at her rejection of him hides his true feelings for her, and they come so close to being apart forever, that in places my heart was pounding.
I loved the element of humour in the characters of Anne’s vain and selfish father and elder sister, her petulant younger sister, and her scheming cousin, but it was mainly the romance of the story that won me over. As Anne and Captain Wentworth come closer to being reunited, their delicate conversations, the subtlety of their meetings, the way expressions and emotions are described, are nothing short of beautiful. My only regret is that the book ends when it does – I was hungry to read more about Anne and Captain Wentworth’s lives together – but this was just me being greedy, the ending is in fact perfect.
I strongly recommend this book to any romantic. Anyone who hasn’t read any Austen but is curious would probably love it – I certainly do!
