Persuasion

A gorgeous new pocket-sized special edition bound in real cloth with foiled edges and a ribbon marker to celebrate the 250th anniversary of Jane Austen’s birth in 2025. The designs are inspired by Jane Austen’s life and work.

Jane Austen’s most mature and wickedly satirical final novel, Persuasion follows the story of Anne Elliott, who as a teenager was engaged to a seemingly ideal man, Frederick Wentworth. But after being persuaded by her friend Lady Russell that he is too poor to be a suitable match, Anne ends their engagement. When they are reacquainted eight years later, their circumstances are transformed: Frederick is returning triumphantly from the Napoleonic War, while Anne’s fortunes are floundering. Will their past regrets prevent them from finding future happiness?

With original illustrations by the celebrated Hugh Thomson and bonus material about the design.

Jane Austen was born in 1775 in rural Hampshire, the daughter of an affluent village rector who encouraged her in her artistic pursuits. In novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma she developed her subtle analysis of contemporary life through depictions of the middle-classes in small towns. Her sharp wit and incisive portraits of ordinary people have given her novels enduring popularity. She died in 1817.