The text of this Norton Critical Edition is that of the first edition (dated 1818 but probably issued in late 1817), which was published posthumously. The editor has spelled out amper sands and made superscript letters lowercase. The novel, which is fully annotated, is followed by the two canceled chapters that comprise Persuasion's original ending. "Backgrounds and Contexts" collects contemporary assess ments 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";. | PERSUASION Jane Austen IS8H-10 0-S95-9Í018-8 90000 393 960181 COVER ILLUSTRATION Thomas Hearne. View of Bath from Spring Garden. Yale Center for British Art. Paul Mellon Collection. AUTHOR S PORTRAIT Watercolor sketch of Jane Austen by Cassandra Austen. Reproduced by courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery. London ABOUT THE SERIES Each Norton Critical Edition includes an authoritative text contextual and source materials and a wide range of interpretations from contemporary perspectives to the most current critical theory as well as a bibliography and in many cases a chronology of the author s life and I The text of this Norton Critical Edition is that I of the first edition dated 1818 but probably issued in late 1817 which was published posthumously. The editor has spelled out amper- sands and made superscript letters lowercase. The novel which is fully annotated 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 nineteenth-century critics Julia Kavanagh and Goldwin Smith who saw Austen as an unassuming sheltered feminine. rural writer and the perspective of Austen s biographer Geraldine Edith Mitten. Modern Critical Views reflects a dramatic shift in the way that scholars view both Austen and Persuasion. Increasingly the focus is on Austen s moral purposefulness and political acumen and on Persuasion s historical social and political implications. A variety of perspectives are provided by A. Walton Litz Marilyn Butler Tony Tanner Robert Hopkins Ann W. Astell Claudia L. Johnson and Cheryl Ann Weissman. A Selected Bibliography is included. NEW YORK .
