Persuasion by Jane Austen

Persuasion, Jane Austen’s last completed novel, was published posthumously in December 1817, alongside Northanger Abbey, in a four-volume set titled Northanger Abbey: And Persuasion. The novels were published by John Murray and prefaced with a "Biographical Notice of the Author," written by Austen’s brother Henry, which revealed for the first time that she was the author of Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma.

Interestingly, Austen was already unwell when she wrote Persuasion, and her health deteriorated rapidly afterwards. Because of her illness, she was unable to revise the novel as thoroughly as her other works, which may explain its slightly different tone. Some scholars suggest that Persuasion reflects her more mature, somber outlook on life than her earlier, lighter novels.

The first edition sold modestly at the time but was well-regarded by early readers and has since become one of Austen's most beloved works. A notable anecdote involves Sir Walter Scott, who admired Austen’s works; he even reviewed Emma favourably and praised her capacity to render ordinary scenes with vivid authenticity.

ABOUT EDITION

The entire edition was printed on Century Laid paper, with a limited run of only 25 copies. The text is set in Bunel Roman No. 2, an electronic adaptation of the typeface originally cut by John Isaac Drury for Elisabeth Caslon, popular in Britain at the turn of the 18th and 19th centuries. Persuasion was bound in a period-appropriate style.

Octavo (160 x 250 mm); 2 volumes, finely bound by hand in full leather with gilt top edges, housed in a matching slipcase.

Condition:

Brand new copy in a fine binding.