I like to read a variety of things, and I just finished a re-read of “Persuasion” by Jane Austen. I last read it some 18 or so years ago.

Even knowing how it would end, I didn’t remember the plot very well. Even if I hadn’t read it before, it’s clear from the very beginning that Anne Elliot is going to end up with Captain Wentworth.

Yet, I was HOOKED. By the time I was two-thirds of the way through, I didn’t want to put it down.

Because I write sword and sorcery, where stakes are literally life and death, I wanted to explore how such a different story, with (comparatively) low stakes, had me so invested.

Austen is one of the master novelists of all time. Truly. More men should read her. Anyways . . . how did she get me hooked?

• FIRST, THE EARLY CHARACTERIZATION OF ANNE. This is brilliantly done. You see how awful everyone in Anne’s family is. You see that Anne recognizes this. You see them overlook and deride Anne. You see Anne respond with charity, rather than self-pity or snideness. You see Anne judge people by what is in their hearts, as far as she can know that, and not selfishly by how their actions or words impact her (Lady Russell, for instance). You also see her try to show respect to people who hold rightful authority over her: Lady Russell, her father, her elder sister.
• WITHIN TWO CHAPTERS, YOU BOTH RESPECT ANNE IMMENSELY AND FEEL BADLY FOR HER. It’s a great emotional combination. Honestly, I think I hated Elizabeth Elliott more than Lydia Bennett, and Sir Walter more than Mrs. Bennett. My resulting empathy for Anne and recognition that she deserves to be happier than she is made me deeply care about her personal happiness.
• AUSTEN KNOWS HER GENRE. Austen is THE master of writing about the domestic domain, family and romantic relationships, and the push and pull between the heart and one’s duties and responsibilities. No, there’s no serial killer, or war to be fought, or physical dangers really (Louisa’s accident aside, but even there . . . Louisa is not important, not really. Tot to the reader. Obviously, you don’t want Louisa to die, but the focus even in Louisa’s accident is less Louisa than the accident’s impact on Captain Wentworth and Anne). There doesn’t need to be physical danger.
• KNOWING HER GENRE, AUSTEN DOESN’T EMPLOY CHEAP TRICKS, OR TRY TO FORCE SUSPENSE /THREATS OF A KIND THAT ARE IMPROPER TO THE STORY SHE IS TELLING. Louisa’s injury could have felt forced and something like a ploy, but it doesn’t. This is because, as stated before, Louisa is not a focal point of the story. The suspense and drama surrounding her accident aren’t really about her survival. It’s not really about Louisa at all. The fact that Louisa is injured in an accident, as well, rather than, say, an attack of some kind, is key. There’s no lingering, inappropriate physical threat. There’s no insertion of a level of danger that would be detrimental to or unfitting for the story.

There are stories of all kinds and of various scopes. Austen doesn’t needlessly widen the scope of the lens of her narration. That is a huge help to keeping the reader interested after the initial characterization of Anne Elliot has made the reader care whether she ends up with the man who deserves her.

So, have you read Persuasion or another Austen book? What did you think? (I still have never read Northanger Abbey or Mansfield Park and I need to!