Featuring one of her most likeable characters, this sparkling love story set in a seaside resort is Jane Austen's final finished work. "There could have been no two hearts so open, no tastes so similar, no feelings so in unison. " Since Anne Elliot eight years ago rejected the marriage proposal of Captain Wentworth, a penniless naval officer, she has resigned herself to a quiet life at home, tending to the imagined needs of her spoiled sisters and vain father. But when Captain Wentworth reappears in their midst, having made his fortune at sea, Anne must ask herself whether she made the right decision--or allowed herself to be persuaded against her heart. Jane Austen's last completed novel and her most optimistic and romantic work, Persuasion gives full scope to the author's artistic powers, blending sharp wit and warm sympathy, stylistic brilliance and matchless insight. It is a story that affirms the lasting power of love and the rejuvenating power of hope. With an Introduction by Margaret Drabbleand an Afterword by Diane Johnson