Persuasion
Subtitle: authoritative texts, background and contexts, criticism
By: Jane Austen ; edited by Patricia Meyer Spacks
Contributors: Spacks, Patricia Ann Meyer
Edition: 2nd ed.
Series: A Norton critical ed
Publisher: W.W. Norton  & Co.
Published: 2012
Place of publication: New York
Language: eng
Number of pages: 352
ISBN-13: 9780393911534
Subjects: Ship captains; Young women; Fiction; Rejection (Psychology); Motherless families
Description: This revised Norton Critical Edition is based on the First Edition text. The editor has spelled out ampersands and lowercased superscript letters. The novel, which is accompanied by revised and expanded explanatory annotations, is followed by the two canceled chapters that comprise Persuasion's original ending. " Backgrounds and Contexts" collects contemporary assessments of Jane Austen as well as materials relating to the social issues of the day. Included is an excerpt from William Hayley's 1785 "Essay on Old Maids"; Austen's letters to Fanny Knight, which reveal her skepticism about marriage as the key to happiness; Henry Austen's memorial tribute to his famous sister; assessments by 19th century critics Julia Kavanagh and Goldwin Smith, who viewed Austen as an unassuming, sheltered, and "feminine"rural writer; and the perspective of Austen's biographer, Geraldine Edith Mitton.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.