简・奥斯丁(1775―1817),英国十九世纪初期杰出的现实主义小说家。她出生在英格兰汉普郡一个乡村牧师的家庭,从小没有上过正规学校,只在父母的指导下阅读了大量古典文学作品和流行小说。她终身未婚,二十岁左右开始写作,先后写出六部反映英国乡绅生活的长篇小说。一八一一年,匿名发表了《理智与情感》,受到好评,以后又接连出版了《傲慢与偏见》(1813)、《曼斯菲尔德庄园》(1814)、《爱玛》(1815)。她逝世后的第二年,《诺桑觉寺》和《劝导》同时问世,并且第一次署上作者的真名。

Persuasion , by Jane Austen , is part of the Barnes & Noble Classics series, which offers quality editions at affordable prices to the student and the general reader, including new scholarship, thoughtful design, and pages of carefully crafted extras. Here are some of the remarkable features of Barnes & Noble Classics : New introductions commissioned from today's top writers and scholars Biographies of the authors Chronologies of contemporary historical, biographical, and cultural events Footnotes and endnotes Selective discussions of imitations, parodies, poems, books, plays, paintings, operas, statuary, and films inspired by the work Comments by other famous authors Study questions to challenge the reader's viewpoints and expectations Bibliographies for further reading Indices & Glossaries, when appropriateAll editions are beautifully designed and are printed to superior specifications; some include illustrations of historical interest. Barnes & Noble Classics pulls together a constellation of influences—biographical, historical, and literary—to enrich each reader's understanding of these enduring works. In her final novel, as in her earlier ones, Jane Austen uses a love story to explore and gently satirize social pretensions and emotional confusion. Persuasion follows the romance of Anne Elliot and naval officer Frederick Wentworth. They were happily engaged until Anne’s friend, Lady Russell, persuaded her that Frederick was “unworthy.” Now, eight years later, Frederick returns, a wealthy captain in the navy, while Anne’s family teeters on the edge of bankruptcy. They still love each other, but their past mistakes threaten to keep them apart.

Austen may seem to paint on a small canvas, but her characters contain the full range of human passion and moral complexity, and the author’s generous spirit renders them all with understanding, compassion, and humor.

Susan ostrov Weisser is a professor of English at Adelphi University, where she specializes in nineteenth-century literature and women’s studies. Weisser also wrote the introduction to the Barnes & Noble Classics edition of Jane Eyre .