In the spirit of honesty, it must be confessed
Persuasion
has never been my favorite Austen book. Anne Elliot was too
easily convinced to give up her love for Fredrick
Wentworth. Then PBS ran a series The Complete Jane
Austen
and one of the films was Simon Burke's adaptation of
Persuasion. My impression of Anne began to undergo a
change. CAPTAIN WENTWORTH'S DIARY by Amanda Grange sealed
the deal on my re-vamped opinion of Anne, Fredrick and the
story of their relationship.
The diary starts in 1806 with Fredrick's shore leave during
the Napoleonic Wars and a visit to his brother in
Somersetshire. The Elliots are one of the aristocratic
families in the area and spend much of their free time
socializing with their neighbors. When Fredrick sees Walter
Elliot and his eldest daughter Elizabeth treating Anne
unkindly, he asks her to dance and finds himself oddly
compelled by her spirit to see her again. Their flirtation
quickly develops into a stronger attachment. Although Anne
is young, when Fredrick asks her to marry him she says yes
without hesitation. Too soon, it's over. Anne withdraws
from the agreement in deference to Lady Russell's advice
crushing Anne and Fredrick equally. Eight years later
Fredrick returns to Somersetshire where his sister and her
husband are leasing Kellynch Hall from the Elliots. who
have landed on hard times. Anne is in the neighborhood to
visit with her youngest sister, married to the son of a
wealthy family. The first meetings between Fredrick and
Anne are awkward, but they become less so and eventually
fences are mended. The renewal of affection between the two
is the happy ending that all readers wish for the pair.
Fredrick comes alive in CAPTAIN WENTWORTH'S DIARY. His
motivations and his
interest in Anne, even after an eight year separation, are
made clear through his diary entries. Even Anne, who is a
more complete character in Persuasion than Fredrick,
becomes sympathetic and like-able. The characters remain
essential true to Jane Austen's creation, they just get
spiffed up a little.
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