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Persuasion: Behind the Scenes
You pierce my soul.
Before Jane Austen wrote that romantic letter from Captain Frederick Wentworth to Anne Elliot, she crafted a masterful story of heartbreak and longing that still resonates with readers today.
But what of those scenes that Jane Austen never wrote? What Persuasion fan doesn't want to listen in on Anne and Wentworth's first courtship, laugh at the follies and foibles of the Elliot family, sail along on Captain Wentworth's harrowing adventures at sea or attend Wentworth and Anne's wedding.
Twelve authors of Austen-inspired fiction: Diana Birchall, Marilyn Brant, Jack Caldwell, L.L. Diamond, Maria Grace, Cassandra Grafton, Kara Louise, Susan Mason-Milks, Jane Odiwe, C. Allyn Pierson, Mary Lydon Simonsen, and Shannon Winslow collaborated to put this unique collection that fills in "missing" scenes from Austen's classic work, sure to delight any true Persuasion fan.
Before Jane Austen wrote that romantic letter from Captain Frederick Wentworth to Anne Elliot, she crafted a masterful story of heartbreak and longing that still resonates with readers today.
But what of those scenes that Jane Austen never wrote? What Persuasion fan doesn't want to listen in on Anne and Wentworth's first courtship, laugh at the follies and foibles of the Elliot family, sail along on Captain Wentworth's harrowing adventures at sea or attend Wentworth and Anne's wedding.
Twelve authors of Austen-inspired fiction: Diana Birchall, Marilyn Brant, Jack Caldwell, L.L. Diamond, Maria Grace, Cassandra Grafton, Kara Louise, Susan Mason-Milks, Jane Odiwe, C. Allyn Pierson, Mary Lydon Simonsen, and Shannon Winslow collaborated to put this unique collection that fills in "missing" scenes from Austen's classic work, sure to delight any true Persuasion fan.
426 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 10, 2019
74 people are currently reading
126 people want to read
About the author
Maria Grace
100 books321 followersSix time BRAG Medallion Honoree, #1 Best-selling Historical Fantasy author Maria Grace has her PhD in Educational Psychology and is a 16-year veteran of the university classroom where she taught courses in human growth and development, learning, test development and counseling. None of which have anything to do with her undergraduate studies in economics/sociology/managerial studies/behavior sciences. She pretends to be a mild-mannered writer/cat-lady, but most of her vacations require helmets and waivers or historical costumes, usually not at the same time.
She stumbled into Jane Austen fan-dom in the mid '90s with Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility film, having somehow graduated HS without ever having read Austen. It was only a short leap then to consume all of Austen's works, in all their various media forms. In the hopes of discovering more works by Austen, she stumbled into the fan fiction forums, which naturally led to asking 'What if...' herself. Twenty nine books later, she still asks that question.
She writes gaslamp fantasy, historical romance and non-fiction to help justify her research addiction.
She stumbled into Jane Austen fan-dom in the mid '90s with Emma Thompson's Sense and Sensibility film, having somehow graduated HS without ever having read Austen. It was only a short leap then to consume all of Austen's works, in all their various media forms. In the hopes of discovering more works by Austen, she stumbled into the fan fiction forums, which naturally led to asking 'What if...' herself. Twenty nine books later, she still asks that question.
She writes gaslamp fantasy, historical romance and non-fiction to help justify her research addiction.
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Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews
August 11, 2020
‘Scenes that Jane Austen never wrote.’ Blurb
Rating: clean PG-14, with descriptions of scenes that might be considered suggestive.
Everything you ever wanted to know or wondered about ‘Persuasion’ was discussed in this variation. Hopefully, everyone who reads this work has read Austen’s ‘Persuasion’ or at least has seen one of the various movie versions. Even if you do NOT have a working knowledge of ‘Persuasion,’ this work was so well done that you will know the story by its end. Each author wrote a scene that followed a natural progression of the timeline of Austen’s story. I had worried and wondered if they could pull it off. I was not disappointed.
Each chapter was a few pages and yet it was a seamless mesh of all stories becoming one. How unique as it felt like the work of one author when, in fact, it was more than a dozen. It gave me the opportunity to read snippets here and there when I had the time. I certainly enjoyed seeing Anne and her family in a new light.
We were given the opportunity to see what everyone thought… even the servants who see and hear everything… I mean everything. OMG!! These snippets were not a rehash of the canon story but would be what happened before, during, or even after what happened in Austen's account. We had the prequel events, with the meeting and the falling in love of our couple, through the anguish and aftermath of the breakup, with two lost souls desperately trying to find solid ground again. I highly recommend this work for those who love ‘Persuasion’ and for those who enjoy reading about love rekindled or, I should say restored, as that flame never really went out. Well done authors.
Rating: clean PG-14, with descriptions of scenes that might be considered suggestive.
Everything you ever wanted to know or wondered about ‘Persuasion’ was discussed in this variation. Hopefully, everyone who reads this work has read Austen’s ‘Persuasion’ or at least has seen one of the various movie versions. Even if you do NOT have a working knowledge of ‘Persuasion,’ this work was so well done that you will know the story by its end. Each author wrote a scene that followed a natural progression of the timeline of Austen’s story. I had worried and wondered if they could pull it off. I was not disappointed.
Each chapter was a few pages and yet it was a seamless mesh of all stories becoming one. How unique as it felt like the work of one author when, in fact, it was more than a dozen. It gave me the opportunity to read snippets here and there when I had the time. I certainly enjoyed seeing Anne and her family in a new light.
We were given the opportunity to see what everyone thought… even the servants who see and hear everything… I mean everything. OMG!! These snippets were not a rehash of the canon story but would be what happened before, during, or even after what happened in Austen's account. We had the prequel events, with the meeting and the falling in love of our couple, through the anguish and aftermath of the breakup, with two lost souls desperately trying to find solid ground again. I highly recommend this work for those who love ‘Persuasion’ and for those who enjoy reading about love rekindled or, I should say restored, as that flame never really went out. Well done authors.
February 18, 2019
I adored this novel and I really wanna see a North and South one. Can we get somebody on that?
April 14, 2020
Si tratta di un "Dietro le quinte", come dice proprio il titolo, ovvero la narrazione di Persuasione a partire dalla conoscenza tra Anne e Wentworth otto anni prima dei fatti del romanzo, attraverso diversi punti di vista. Si tratta di un progetto degli autori di Austen Variation, che hanno scritto un capitolo alla settimana (o qualcosina in più) per tutto il 2017, anno del Bicentenario dalla pubblicazione di Persuasion.
Ci sono le scene della cattura del Laconia - molto maschili, scritte da Jack Caldwell, scene scritte in prima persona in cui è Anne a narrare la storia, scene dal punto di vista dei domestici, che vedono di Mrs. Clay molto più di quanto non vedano Sir Walter ed Elizabeth Elliot.
I personaggi sembrano molto fedeli agli originali, anche se la "mia" Mary è un po' appannata e compare molto meno di quanto mi sarebbe piaciuto. "Mia" perché Mary e il mio personaggio austeniano preferito, che mi fa morir dal ridere con la sua volubilità che dipende molto dal suo egocentrismo; cioè, se una persona non la calcola è la peggiore del mondo, quando le fa i salamelecchi e la adula, diventa subito la migliore. La lettera che scrive ad Anne prima di andare a Bath è meravigliosa: su una pagina dice una cosa, nella pagina seguente, scritta il giorno successivo, dice esattamente l'opposto!
Mi ha un po' delusa il periodo trascorso a Uppercross prima di Lyme Regis, perché si vede poco sia la reazione di Frederick che quella di Anne nel ritrovarsi. Anche molte delle scene topiche, come quando lui la "salva" dall'aggressione del nipote troppo affettuoso, o quando lei ascolta per caso da dietro il cespuglio i discorsi di Frederick e Louisa non sono state trattate, e sono due momenti che io adoro del libro.
Dal periodo trascorso a Lyme, poi, mi è sembrato un po' pasticciato cronologicamente, ma questo credo dipenda dal fatto che gli autori hanno pubblicato gli episodi separatamente l'uno dall'altro e magari qualcuno non si è reso conto che il collega era andato un po' più avanti con la storia. O forse sono io a sbagliarmi e la lettura andrebbe fatta contemporaneamente all'originale.
I capitoli finali sono un piccolo sequel, che segue però le indicazioni date da Jane Austen sul finale del libro. Elizabeth e il padre raccolgono quello che hanno seminato, e questo dà una grande soddisfazione, se si pensa a quante volte avrei voluto schiaffeggiare Elizabeth nel corso di questo libro!
Mrs. Smith a me non piace più di tanto come personaggio, invece, la trovo un po' opportunista. Quando penso che, se Anne le avesse detto che avrebbe sposato Mr. Elliot, non le avrebbe rivelato nulla su di lui mi fa venire i brividi. Quindi, d'accordo che Frederick sistemi le cose per lei nelle Indie Occidentali, ma addirittura fare ad Anne da damigella per le nozze - nelle sue condizioni di salute, che all'improvviso migliorano... Bah.
Ci sono le scene della cattura del Laconia - molto maschili, scritte da Jack Caldwell, scene scritte in prima persona in cui è Anne a narrare la storia, scene dal punto di vista dei domestici, che vedono di Mrs. Clay molto più di quanto non vedano Sir Walter ed Elizabeth Elliot.
I personaggi sembrano molto fedeli agli originali, anche se la "mia" Mary è un po' appannata e compare molto meno di quanto mi sarebbe piaciuto. "Mia" perché Mary e il mio personaggio austeniano preferito, che mi fa morir dal ridere con la sua volubilità che dipende molto dal suo egocentrismo; cioè, se una persona non la calcola è la peggiore del mondo, quando le fa i salamelecchi e la adula, diventa subito la migliore. La lettera che scrive ad Anne prima di andare a Bath è meravigliosa: su una pagina dice una cosa, nella pagina seguente, scritta il giorno successivo, dice esattamente l'opposto!
Mi ha un po' delusa il periodo trascorso a Uppercross prima di Lyme Regis, perché si vede poco sia la reazione di Frederick che quella di Anne nel ritrovarsi. Anche molte delle scene topiche, come quando lui la "salva" dall'aggressione del nipote troppo affettuoso, o quando lei ascolta per caso da dietro il cespuglio i discorsi di Frederick e Louisa non sono state trattate, e sono due momenti che io adoro del libro.
Dal periodo trascorso a Lyme, poi, mi è sembrato un po' pasticciato cronologicamente, ma questo credo dipenda dal fatto che gli autori hanno pubblicato gli episodi separatamente l'uno dall'altro e magari qualcuno non si è reso conto che il collega era andato un po' più avanti con la storia. O forse sono io a sbagliarmi e la lettura andrebbe fatta contemporaneamente all'originale.
I capitoli finali sono un piccolo sequel, che segue però le indicazioni date da Jane Austen sul finale del libro. Elizabeth e il padre raccolgono quello che hanno seminato, e questo dà una grande soddisfazione, se si pensa a quante volte avrei voluto schiaffeggiare Elizabeth nel corso di questo libro!
Mrs. Smith a me non piace più di tanto come personaggio, invece, la trovo un po' opportunista. Quando penso che, se Anne le avesse detto che avrebbe sposato Mr. Elliot, non le avrebbe rivelato nulla su di lui mi fa venire i brividi. Quindi, d'accordo che Frederick sistemi le cose per lei nelle Indie Occidentali, ma addirittura fare ad Anne da damigella per le nozze - nelle sue condizioni di salute, che all'improvviso migliorano... Bah.
abbandonati
August 9, 2020Gdl con Edicola & Libreria: le nostre passioni...
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Purtroppo lo abbandono.
Non sono riuscita a superare la mia idiosincrasia per i libri che narrano le vicende di personaggi di storie famose, scritte però da autori che non sono gli scrittori originali (e con Jane Austen è difficile, oltretutto si tratta del mio libro austeniano preferito).
https://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/...
Purtroppo lo abbandono.
Non sono riuscita a superare la mia idiosincrasia per i libri che narrano le vicende di personaggi di storie famose, scritte però da autori che non sono gli scrittori originali (e con Jane Austen è difficile, oltretutto si tratta del mio libro austeniano preferito).
July 1, 2021
Fun to read, and clever to have 12 separate authors write a tightly woven tale. Only once did I notice a lack of continuity between chapters and the original Jane Austen novel.
One other comment: the gross of authors made little pretense toward imitating Jane Austen's style. More's the credit to them.
One other comment: the gross of authors made little pretense toward imitating Jane Austen's style. More's the credit to them.
July 28, 2019
Jane Austen's 'Persuasion' is my favorite of her novels. Anyone who also loves it will, for the most part, be as giddy over this book as I was.
Written by many solid authors within the Jane Austen fanfiction world, it was wonderful to read an expansion of this beloved novel.
From what I can tell, it is only available in ebook, and this is where I have to knock off a star in my rating. The version that showed up on my kindle contained multiple duplications of sections which made reading a bit frustrating at times. Whether this was due to some electronic issue or editing is unknown, but it did lessen my enjoyment of the experience.
Additionally, the last chapter of the book did not focus on the characters that I would have liked to end with.. that made me feel a slight disappointment as I closed up my kindle. That was a bummer.
ALL THAT SAID, it was still so very good. There aren't a lot of 'Persuasion' retellings, and if you are looking for one, then this one is a must-read.
January 25, 2020
This Persuasion variation contains tales of the missing scenes in the book. From the courtship of Wentworth and Anne, and his life on board ship. To the domestic arrangements of the Elliots, Musgroves and Crofts.
A delightful and well-written set of short stories.
A delightful and well-written set of short stories.
February 11, 2020
What JA did not write
I have enjoyed these stories. I may have given some of these stories only four stars but in general I have found these bits "missing" lovely and entertaining, that's why I give them five stars as a collection.
I have enjoyed these stories. I may have given some of these stories only four stars but in general I have found these bits "missing" lovely and entertaining, that's why I give them five stars as a collection.
May 10, 2019
Thoroughly enjoyed this book. Some chapters are small treasures, some less. But there is a very good level in general.
June 19, 2020
Too long
The story was beautiful but should have ended after the wedding in my opinion. The entire book was tiring due to too much repeated in individual chapters.
The story was beautiful but should have ended after the wedding in my opinion. The entire book was tiring due to too much repeated in individual chapters.
January 5, 2022
A beautiful rendition of what was going on the minds of our main characters and how one thing led to another.
November 16, 2024
Very enjoyable! I appreciated the way the various authors filled in the gaps to the original Persuasion.
March 24, 2025
A bit uneven. I would’ve liked the editor to stick to a more chronological approach.
Displaying 1 - 14 of 14 reviews