Despite passionate affairs with Stephen King and Neil Gaiman, Jane Austen remains my favourite author of all time. I love Pride and Prejudice and could probably quote that book back to front. For the longest time, it remained my absolute favourite novel, a testament to my penchant for romance novels with quirky dialogue and esoteric settings.

And then I met Anne Elliot.

The heroine of Persuasion isn’t Austen’s usual style; she is a girl who knows her place and sticks to it. Austen herself described Anne as being ‘too good for her’. This book doesn’t get nearly as much hype as it deserves. The love story of Persuasion is timeless, and I feel it soundly trumps Pride and Prejudice with the romantic factor of love conquering all. As much as the book reads like a gripping soap opera (guilty pleasure right here, guys), the characters steer clear of overwhelming shallowness and come through to end up together like you’d always known they would.

Because Jane Austen was a hopeless romantic, just like me.

Pax.
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Enjoy the weekend, guys!