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Primary sourceBook1817 (title page dated 1818)

Persuasion

Jane Austen · 1817 (title page dated 1818)

Jane Austen's last completed novel, published posthumously in 1817, about a second chance at love between Anne Elliot and a naval captain.

Austen's final completed novel, published after her death and reflecting her late, mature outlook.

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Title page of the 1818 first edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, printed in London by John Murray, Albemarle-Street. Text reads: Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. By the author of Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield-Park, &c. With a biographical notice of the author. In four volumes. Vol. I.
Title page, first edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. London: John Murray, 1818.

About this source

What it is

Persuasion is the last novel Jane Austen completed. It was published together with Northanger Abbey on 20 December 1817, six months after her death, although the title page is dated 1818. It was printed in London by John Murray.

Why it matters

The novel tells of Anne Elliot and Captain Frederick Wentworth, reunited years after she was persuaded to break their engagement. Scholars regard Anne as Austen's most mature heroine and the book her most refined work, using free indirect speech to show characters' self-deception and growing self-understanding. Its naval characters reflect the real careers of Austen's own brothers.

Look closer

  • Why might a novel about a "second chance" feel different from Austen's earlier books about first romances?
  • What does the title page's mention of "a biographical notice of the author" suggest about how Austen was being presented to readers after her death?
  • How does the setting of naval officers connect to the historical period just after the Napoleonic Wars?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jane Austen on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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Scan of the title page of the first edition, volume one, of Pride and Prejudice: A Novel, in three volumes, by the author of Sense and Sensibility. London, printed for T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1813.Book

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Jane Austen · 1813

A printed portrait illustration of a woman, used as a frontispiece in a book of Jane Austen's novels.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Jane Austen, Winchester Edition

1898

Title page of the first edition of Emma, Vol. I. Text reads: EMMA: A NOVEL. IN THREE VOLUMES. BY THE AUTHOR OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, &c. &c. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, 1816. Cream-colored paper with black serif type.Book

Primary source

Emma

Jane Austen · 1815

Title page of the first edition of Sense and Sensibility, a novel in three volumes, by a Lady, Vol. I, London, printed for the author and published by T. Egerton, Whitehall, 1811.Book

Primary source

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen · 1811

Title page of the 1818 first edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, printed in London by John Murray, Albemarle-Street. Text reads 'Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. By the author of Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield-Park, &c. With a biographical notice of the author. In four volumes. Vol. I.' Aged cream paper with foxing.Book

Primary source

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen · written c. 1799, published 1817 (title page 1818)

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