Persuasion

In Our Time

BBC

History

4.6 • 9.2K Ratings

🗓️ 19 January 2023

⏱️ 51 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Melvyn Bragg and guests discuss Jane Austen’s last complete novel, which was published just before Christmas in 1817, five months after her death. It is the story of Anne Elliot, now 27 and (so we are told), losing her bloom, and of her feelings for Captain Wentworth who she was engaged to, 8 years before – an engagement she broke off under pressure from her father and godmother. When Wentworth, by chance, comes back into Anne Elliot's life, he is still angry with her and neither she nor Austen's readers can know whether it is now too late for their thwarted love to have a second chance. The image above is from a 1995 BBC adaptation of the novel, with Amanda Root and Ciarán Hinds With Karen O’Brien Vice-Chancellor of Durham University Fiona Stafford Professor of English Language and Literature at the University of Oxford And Paddy Bullard Associate Professor of English Literature and Book History at the University of Reading Producer: Simon Tillotson

Transcript

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0:00.0	BBC Sounds Music Radio Podcasts
0:04.7	Thanks for downloading this episode of In Our Time.
0:07.4	There's a reading list to go with it on our website and you can get news about our
0:10.7	programs if you follow us on Twitter at BBC In Our Time.
0:14.6	I hope you enjoyed the program.
0:16.6	Hello, persuasion.
0:17.9	Jane Austen's last complete novel was published just before Christmas 1817, five months after
0:24.5	her death.
0:25.5	It's the story of Anne Elliott, now 27, and losing her bloom, we're told, and of a
0:31.6	feelings for the man she was engaged to eight years before, an engagement she broke off
0:36.7	under family pressure.
0:38.8	This first great love is Captain Wentworth, and when by chance he comes back into our life
0:42.9	still angry with her, she and we cannot know whether it's now too late for their love
0:48.1	to have a second chance.
0:50.0	With me to discuss persuasion, I feel on the staff at Professor Abinglish Language
0:53.6	and Literature at the University of Oxford, Paddy Bullard, Associate Professor of English
0:58.1	Literature and Book History at the University of British and Karen Abryne by Chancellor
1:02.9	of Durham University, Karen.
1:05.3	One of Jane Austen's brothers Henry wrote a short biographical note of his sister in
1:10.7	the first edition.
1:12.3	Can you try the same?
1:14.0	I will try a brief biographical note, so as you mentioned Melvin, persuasion was published
	...

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