Persuasion

Published one year after its author's death in 1818, Persuasion is Jane Austen's last completed novel. On its most basic level, it is a love story about two people separated by convention and then given a second chance. On another level, it is a characteristically deft exploration of human foibles and social flux.

Anne Elliot, heroine of Austen's last novel, did something we can all relate to: Long ago, she let the love of her life get away. In this case, she had allowed herself to be persuaded by a trusted family friend that the young man she loved wasn't an adequate match, social stationwise, and that Anne could do better. The novel opens some seven years after Anne sent her beau packing, and she's still alone. But then the guy she never stopped loving comes back from the sea. As always, Austen's storytelling is so confident, you can't help but allow yourself to be taken on the enjoyable journey.