Persuade Me
Persuasion, BBC mini-series, 1961, starring Paul Daneman and Daphne Slater.
‘I’ve always had a weakness for muffs …‘
Boy meets girl, falls in love and asks her to sail round the world with him. Girl loves boy - but listens to The Voice of Reason, an old family friend, and says no …
The words ‘forgive and forget’ are not in Rick Wentworth’s vocabulary. The word ‘regret’ is definitely in Anna Elliot’s.
When they meet again eight years later, he seems indifferent and intent on finding happiness elsewhere. Can she convince him that their lost love is worth a second chance?
Persuade Me, JA’s modern version of Persuasion, will be available later this year. In the meantime, you can read the prologue and first chapter here or feast your eyes on a certain Captain Wentworth.
JA says: Just as I felt Knightley needed updating for a 21st-century audience in The Importance of Being Emma, I’ve given Anne Elliot similar treatment in Persuade Me. My Anna leads her own life and is financially independent of her father, although there’s enough baggage between them to fill an airport carousel! I’d love to know what you think of the extract - email me at juliet@julietarcher.com.
