Jane Austen – Narinder Dhami: Persuasion (Hodder and Stoughton 2022)
Jane Austen published four novels during her lifetime: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma. Northanger Abbey and Persuasion are posthumous works, and her unfinished novel, Sanditon, was recently republished, from which a series was also made. There are many adaptations of each of her books. In the Awesomely Austen series, the stories were rewritten for the younger age group. Persuasion can be read in the interpretation of Narinder Dhami, whose favorite is Jane Austen and who is also the author of many children’s and young adult books.
Anne Elliot spends her days quietly reading in the company of her family. She doesn’t even need to say much, as her father and sister do enough of it… Anne is still sad that she broke off her engagement years ago to the man she loved so much, but her family didn’t accept. But now, during an unexpected moving and a trip, she may meet him again, for which she doesn’t know whether to be happy for or not. Does he still think about her sometimes?
Of Jane Austen’s characters, Anne is seemingly the most withdrawn. However, in her own quiet way, she has an opinion on everything. She does not mourn the past, although she knows that she should not have turned away from the man she truly loved, but should have stayed by his side. One of the main lessons of the story is that you shouldn’t judge by appearances – we should take the time to get to know people better than that. All who know Anne do love her. Maybe happiness can even find her at the end.
The books of the Awesomely Austen series are made special by the drawings of French illustrator Églantin Ceulemans, who is a fan of Jane Austen herself. She captures the author’s wit, brings the colorful cast of the stories to life with lovely and funny black and white illustrations.
