PERSUASION IN ARABIC: A CONVERSATION WITH TRANSLATOR MAHA MAHMOUD SALEH

by Maria Grazia, My Jane Austen Book Club

Jane Austen’s works have crossed centuries, borders, and languages—continuing to speak to readers around the world. Recently, Persuasion has taken on new life in Arabic, thanks to the thoughtful work of freelance translator Maha Mahmoud Saleh, based in Cairo.

When she reached out to share news of her translation, I was immediately intrigued—not only by the beautiful cover of the Arabic edition, but also by the opportunity to explore how Austen’s elegant irony and emotional depth could be reimagined for a different linguistic and cultural audience. Maha shared that she began her translation process by watching a 1990s film adaptation of Persuasion, and was struck by how familiar the story felt—almost like an old Arabic romantic drama. “If it weren’t for the distinctly English setting,” she told me, “I would have thought I was watching an old Arabic movie starring Faten Hamama and Omar Sharif—dubbed into English!”

INTERVIEW WITH ALANA HIGHBURY: A MODERN PERSUASION WITH A TWIST

 

Dear Janeites and romance lovers,

I’m thrilled to welcome Alana Highbury to My Jane Austen Book Club! Alana has once again woven Austen-inspired magic with her latest contemporary romance, the second book in her captivating series. This time, she brings us a modern take on Persuasion, filled with heartbreak, second chances, and the undeniable pull of unfinished love.

In this novel, Annie is forced to confront her past when Kylan—the man whose heart she broke four years ago—unexpectedly re-enters her life. As she struggles to rebuild herself after personal setbacks, Annie must navigate not only her lingering feelings for Kylan but also the professional challenge of working with him. Will she be able to hold her ground, or will fate offer them a long-awaited second chance?

Join me as I chat with Alana about her inspiration, the emotional depths of her characters, and what’s next in her Austen-inspired world!  MG💕

AUTUMNAL MELANCHOLY IN JANE AUSTEN'S PERSUASION

 

Sally Hawkins as Anne Elliott - Persuasion 2007

“Her pleasure in the walk arise from the exercise and the day, from the view of the last smiles of the year upon the tawny leaves and withered hedges, and from repeating to herself some few of the thousand poetical descriptions extant of autumn, that season of peculiar and inexhaustible influence on the mind of taste and tenderness, that season which has drawn from every poet worthy of being read some attempt at description, or some lines of feeling.” - Persuasion

Fall is here again and it's definitely my favourite season. Autumn, with its wistful beauty and the melancholy it often carries, has long been a source of inspiration for poets, writers, and artists. It's a season that mirrors the bittersweet emotions of change, reflection, and the passing of time. Jane Austen, in her final completed novel Persuasion, masterfully weaves the melancholic essence of autumn into the narrative, a reflection of her own life circumstances as she penned the novel while seriously ill.

CAPTIVE HEARTS BLOG TOUR: EXCERPTS & GIVEAWAY

Hello and welcome to Captive Hearts Blog Tour! If you love Jane Austen's Persuasion you can't miss reading Kelly Miller's new book, but  first, scroll down,  discover more and read an excerpt!  MG

CAPTIVE HEARTS

Will Captain Wentworth realize too late that he has a second chance at love?

With a successful naval career and a fortune to his name, Frederick Wentworth receives a hero’s welcome from his sister’s neighbours.

 One person, though, presents a source of vexation. Years earlier, Miss Anne Elliot had reneged on her promise to marry Wentworth, revealing a significant character flaw. Yet Anne’s unmarried state at the age of seven and twenty, her altered demeanour, and her resolute avoidance of Wentworth raise questions that gnaw at his composure.

CELESTIAL PERSUASION, A PREQUEL TO AUSTEN'S PERSUASION. INTERVIEW WITH AUTHOR MIRTA INES TRUPP

 

Hello Mirta and welcome to My Jane Austen Book Club! My first question for you is, as usual, “When was your first encounter with Jane Austen”?

Hello Maria Grazia. Thank you for your warm welcome. I’ve been looking forward to this day! To answer your first question, I have to go back to Mrs. Malm’s English literature class in junior high school. I was in the ninth grade when we read Pride and Prejudice. I was an avid novel reader by that time, but—if memory serves me well—it took me several years to appreciate her genius and become a true Janeite.

     Congratulations on the release of Celestial Persuasion.   Did you discover something relevant about the characters in Jane Austen’s Persuasion while writing your book?

Indeed, I did, but it actually started when I was writing my previous novel, The Meyersons of Meryton and it had to do more with the setting, than the characters themselves. I had to come up with a grand idea on how to discipline Mr. Wickham—that devious blackguard! What I discovered not only provided me with creative alternative to transportation to Australia, it opened my eyes to some history I would have naturally learned—had I been educated in my native land of Argentina.

MARIA GRACE: TWO NEW BOOKS IN THE JANE AUSTEN'S DRAGONS SAGA!

Thank so much for inviting me to visit, Maria Grazia! I’m excited to share my newest books with your readers!

Who hasn’t said Jane Austen books could really used a lot more dragons? Ok, maybe you need to be the mother of sons in order to heard that. So, I suppose you can blame my three sons for this adventure. We were having lunch at the local pizza buffet one day and started kicking around ideas and we hit on ‘what if dragons lived during the Regency…’ Well before I knew it, we’d hammered out an entire dragon culture and the story potentials went WILD. So much fun!

JANE AUSTEN'S FIGHTING MEN: PERSUADED TO SAIL

Greetings, everyone. Jack Caldwell here. I’d like to thank Maria  Grazia for the opportunity to visit with you today to talk about my latest book, PERSUADED TO SAIL: asequel to Persuasion and Book Three of Jane Austen’s Fighting Men.

PERSUADED TO SAIL picks up at the end of Persuasion—the wedding of Anne Elliot to Captain Frederick Wentworth. Planning an uneventful honeymoon cruise aboard HMS Laconia to Frederick’s posting in Bermuda, the Wentworths’ plans are thrown into disarray by the Hundred Days Crisis.

Hold on a second. What is the Hundred Days Crisis?

To explain this, I have to go back to the genesis of the Napoleonic Wars (1803-1815). This era of conflict arose out of the Wars of the French Revolution (1792-1802). Europe had been locked in a bloody conflict between the homicidal French Republic and the autocratic European monarchies. The chaos allowed a little-known general from the French island of Corsica, Napoleon Bonaparte, to prove his military prowess, to seize power in a coup d'état, and then smash the Coalition armies and force a peace. Peace only lasted a year, and a third coalition of European powers was formed in 1803 to fight the self-styled Emperor Napoleon.

JEANETTE WATTS, A WOMAN'S PERSUASION - AUTHOR GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY

Thank you for hosting me on your wonderful book club!

While all of us feel the irresistible pull of the spirited Lizzie Bennett, I am not the only person who has a special love for Anne Elliot from Persuasion.

Anne is dutiful, steady, and puts the needs of others before herself. Does that make for a dull heroine? Maybe to some. But I love "overlooked" people. It's always fun to find the introvert in the room, and go start a conversation. Introverts frequently have plenty to say. They spent less time talking and more time thinking.

FIND WONDER IN ALL THINGS - FEATURE POST

*****Book Blurb*****

“There could have never been two hearts so open… Now they were as strangers”

—Persuasion

Mountain Laurel Elliot is like her name—she blooms best in the cool comfort of shade, hidden in the Kentucky foothills of Appalachia. Alone on her mountain, she lives a private existence with only her pottery—and her regrets—for company.

James Marshall had a secret dream and Laurel was part of it, but dreams sometimes lead to unexpected places. James’s heart broke when Laurel cut him loose, but he moved on—and became successful beyond his wildest dreams.

For one glorious summer, James and Laurel had each other, but life has kept them far apart.

Until now.

BLOG TOUR & GIVEAWAY - SHANNON WINSLOW ON PERSUASION BEHIND THE SCENES

Hello dear friends and welcome to our online book club. Today our guest is Shannon Winslow, who is one of the twelve authors of Austen-inspired fiction that collaborated in a unique, creative attempt to fill in "missing" scenes to Austen's classic work, Persuasion,  sure to delight any true fan. The result is Persuasion Behind the Scenes.   Enjoy Shannon's guest blog and take your chances to win in the giveaway contest you find below. 

MODERN PERSUASION BLOG TOUR - SARA MARKS, 10 THINGS I LOVE ABOUT CAPTAIN WENTWORTH

1. He’s in the Navy people!  In the Napoleonic era!  If you want to know why that is so awesome, I suggest reading the Horatio Hornblower, Ramage, and Master and Commander series.  

2. Dick Musgrove was clearly a pain in the rear, but Capt. Wentworth made a point of trying to help him.  Even after Dick died (and clearly from his own stupidity), Wentworth is kind to his parents and doesn’t disparage the memory of their son.

3. He is the balance to Anne, she is a woman of thought and he is a man of action.

GIVING GIFTS IN JANE AUSTEN

(by Victoria Grossack)

Are you at a loss, this holiday season, at what to give your loved ones?  Why not take a look at the gifts in Jane Austen’s novels and see if they inspire you?  And beware of the pitfalls, as not all gifts are welcome from all givers.

One of the most frequently bestowed gifts in Jane Austen is money.  The amount may be small, such as the single pound note given by Mrs. Norris to William Price in Mansfield Park (this amount is not given explicitly in the text, but Jane Austen herself told her family that was the amount she meant).  Or the sum may be enormous, as when Darcy bribes Wickham to marry Lydia Bennet in Pride & Prejudice.  Today some people turn their noses up at money, but in Jane Austen’s novels, recipients are almost always appreciative.

Assuming you want to be more personal, let’s consider other significant gifts in Austen’s novels.

The pianoforte.  In Emma (spoiler alert), Frank Churchill ‘anonymously’ gives Jane Fairfax a pianoforte to use during her stay in Highbury.  Of course, Miss Fairfax knows who the donor is, but as she cannot say, the gift makes her vulnerable to unkind rumors.  On the other hand, it is a pretty instrument, a generous gift, and she enjoys playing it tremendously.  What can one learn from this?  It’s always good to remember the tastes of your recipients, and to give them what they lack in certain situations.  Still, do your best not to cause mischief and inconvenience.

SWAY BLOG TOUR - A CONTEMPORARY RETELLING OF PERSUASION BY MELANIE STANFORD

Sway is out today and Melanie Stanford is our guest to launch her blog tour. Sway is a new  modern retelling of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Ready to welcome Melanie  to our online club? And, by the way, don't  miss the chance to win a signed paperback copy. The giveaway is open internationally. Good luck, everyone! 

First off, a big thank you to Maria Grazia for having me today!

Why write a retelling? Why Jane Austen? These are two questions I often hear from people when they find out about SWAY, my contemporary retelling of PERSUASION set in LA.

Before starting SWAY, I’d written a young adult time-travel novel and its sequel. Even though I’d read tons of Jane Austen retellings, I’d never considered writing one of my own. I wanted to write YA and I wanted to write stories with some kind of magical element to them—I never once thought I’d write straight up contemporary.

Then I was in the middle of a re-watch of 2007’s PERSUASION (I’ve got a thing for Rupert Penry-Jones in that movie, not gonna lie *swoons*). I don’t remember what point in the movie it struck me, but I just knew it would make an awesome modern day story.

Out of all of Jane Austen’s novels, I really got Persuasion when I read it. I felt it. I understood Anne’s pain and heartache when she’s constantly thrown into company with Captain Wentworth. I think we all know what it’s like to regret a break-up. There are just so many feelings and drama going on in Persuasion (and I love me some drama) that I wanted so badly to write it down myself, take it into a modern world and put my own spin on it.

SECOND CHANCES BY SARAH PRICE - GUEST POST & GIVEAWAY

Second Chances - guest post by Sarah Price

Oh Anne! How could you possibly have let so many people persuade you to deny Frederick’s proposal and commit yourself to a future devoid of your true love?

Isn’t that the question we ask ourselves while reading Jane Austen’s Persuasion?

First loves do not often evolve into life time partnerships. If they did, I’d be married to Jimmy Cline, the little blond hair boy that I “dated” in fourth grade. He kissed me by the mailbox after carrying my books from the bus stop. That’s what happens when you date “older” men (he was in sixth grade).

But hearts are meant to be broken.

When he broke up with me for Beth Whatever-Her-Last-Name-Was, I thought the world would end. It didn’t.

I cannot imagine my life today if I had pined for him over the years, denying myself other experiences in life and love. Would I have traveled? Would I have my two children? Would I be a successful author?

Probably not.

Each broken heart adds character to our own stories, helping us learn to love in a way that is stronger and better each time around.

For Anne, however, her story has a different ending.

She did pine for Frederick and denied herself future courtships. When Frederick returned, her heart broke all over again only to be rewarded in the end for her steadfast devotion to the memory of their relationship from her youth.

THE PERSUASION OF MISS JANE AUSTEN BLOG TOUR - GUEST POST BY SHANNON WINSLOW

Many thanks to Maria for inviting me to visit as part of my virtual book tour for my new novel, The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen! For today’s post, Maria challenged me to devise a “top ten” list of some kind. I decided to go with my top ten personal favorite quotes from the book – excerpts I’ve never shared before. It’s a collaborative effort between Jane Austen and myself, as you will see.

The Persuasion of Miss Jane Austen represents the private journal the great authoress wrote alongside the novel Persuasion, documenting the story behind the story – her real, life-long romance with a sea captain of her own. She’s reflecting back on their early days of exquisite felicity, their painful parting, and what became of their second chance years later – the events which inspired what she wrote in her final, most-poignant novel.

Jane’s relationship with her captain didn’t influence only Persuasion, though, but all her other books as well. She says…

TALKING JANE AUSTEN WITH ... AUTHOR JOANA STARNES + DOUBLE GIVEAWAY OF THE SUBSEQUENT PROPOSAL

Hello  Joana. I’m glad you accepted to join us here at our online book club to talk Jane Austen with us. Welcome!

Many thanks for inviting me, Maria Grazia – it’s a great pleasure to be here!

My first question is: when and how did your lucky encounter with Jane Austen take place?

If we’re talking ‘first encounters’, like many of us here, I began reading Jane Austen in my teens. Real appreciation, though, came much later. At first, I read her novels for the storyline, but as I grew older, I began to look for context, and reading them in context made me love them so much more!

And then came the 1995 adaptation, which I absolutely adored, not only for the usual reasons – i.e. Colin Firth J - but also for the fantastic attention to detail! Having watched the miniseries, I was left craving for more. Luckily, I came across ‘The Making of Pride and Prejudice’, a book explaining how the 1995 adaptation was put together and I was mesmerised by all the details it mentioned, from the endless hours spent looking for the perfect location, to the countless photographs and sketches done in order to get Lydia’s hairstyle right, or Mr. Bennet’s powdering gown, or the colour and the cut of Darcy’s coat! I was thrilled with the little inside stories too, like Benjamin Whitrow (Mr. Bennet) recounting how the period cook was kind enough to ask for his favourite pudding, so that it could be used in one of the scenes – and how he gorged himself on gooseberry fool during the first, second and third take, only to end up hating the very sight of it by the time that particular scene was finally ‘in the can’!

Then, having devoured the book, unlike Mr. Whitrow and his favourite pudding I was still left wanting more, so I began trawling the internet until one happy day I discovered JAFF – and the rest is history!

PERSUASION, LYME AND THE COBB - GUEST POST BY HELENA FAIRFAX

The Cobb at Lyme Regis

My name’s Helena Fairfax. I’m a romance author and Jane Austen fan, and I’m thrilled to be here at My Jane Austen Book Club. I’m a British author, and I live in the north of England, in one of my favourite parts of the world – on the edge of the Yorkshire moors, the wild landscape which provided the setting for Emily Brontë’sWuthering Heights. 

My first two romance novels, The Silk Romance and The Antique Love, were published last year. (I’m proud to add here that The Silk Romance was described by one reviewer as ‘a mixture of Pride and Prejudice and Cinderella’. 

 As an Austen fan, her commentabsolutely thrilled me to bits.) This winter I spent some time on England’s south coast, in the county of Dorset. This part of the country was much loved by Jane Austen, especially the seaside town of Lyme Regis, which is the setting for Persuasion. If you follow me on Facebook you may already have seen some of my photos of Dorset on England's south coast, where I spent Christmas.

 On Christmas Day we visited Lyme Regis, a small town in Dorset, by the seaside. I was most excited about this, as I've never been to Lyme before, and anyone who's read Jane Austen's Persuasion will know it as the setting for her novel. It's also the setting for John Fowles The French Lieutenant's Woman, which features this famous scene between Meryl Streep and Jeremy Irons on Lyme's Cobb. 

The Cobb is a man made wall that protects the harbour.  As quite often happens with these things, both the Cobb and the harbour were a lot smaller than I imagined.

PERSUASION IN JANE AUSTEN'S PERSUASION AND ... OTHER NOVELS

by guest blogger Victoria Grossack

Some may think that focusing on the art and importance of persuasion in Jane Austen’s last written novel, Persuasion, is inappropriate, for she did not choose this title herself.  The book was published after her death, and its title chosen by one of her brothers, Henry Austen.  While writing it Jane called the story “The Elliots.”  Henry Austen likewise chose the title for his sister’s other posthumously published work, Northanger Abbey, called“Susan” during Jane Austen’s life (readers may notice that Northanger Abbey has no Susan in it; when Jane Austen revised this work, she changed the heroine’s name from Susan to Catherine).Henry Austen may have selected the titlePersuasion based on its similarity to the titles of two of his sister’s other successful works: Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility.  Perhaps Persuasion, being shorter, merits only a single word.

Jane Austen’s other novels contain explicit examples of persuasion that are vital to their plots.  In Sense and Sensibility, John Dashwoodis persuaded by his wife not to assist his half-sisters.  Pride and Prejudice’s Mr. Bingley is persuaded by his sisters and Mr. Darcy to stay away from Jane Bennet, a decision he regrets and eventually puts aside.  Emma persuades Harriet Smith that Mr. Elton is in love with her.  The Thorpes persuade General Tilney that Catherine Morland is broke.Fanny Price is pressured by many to accept Henry Crawford as a suitor in Mansfield Park; even though she is generally considered the weakest of the heroines, she resists firmly. 

FATHERS IN JANE AUSTEN

(by guest blogger Victoria Grossack)  

As Father’s Day comes around, celebrated on the third Sunday in June in most, although certainly not all, countries around the world, Jane Austen devotees can contemplate the rich array of fathers portrayed in the author’s works.

By all accounts, Jane Austen had a wonderful relationship with her own father.  He believed in her abilities and encouraged her to read anything and everything in his library.  Despite the excellence of her own father, Jane Austen, by exercising her powers of observation and her lively imagination, created a completely different set of fathers and father figures in her six novels.

The Fathers of the Heroines

Mr. Bennet in Pride and Prejudice.  Mr. Bennet has five daughters.  He loves them, especially the heroine, Elizabeth, but not so unconditionally that he is unaware of their shortcomings.  He is witty and insightful but also indolent.  As a father he has been deficient, as he did not save money to buy them husbands, worthless or deserving.  He had not reigned in the excesses of his wife or his younger daughters. Mr. Bennet, perhaps because he is older and therefore wiser, shows more insight into people than do many of the people around him.  He is not taken in by Mr. Wickham, for example; whereas Elizabeth’s mistrust of that officer only occurs after she learns more information.

COMPETITION - WIN JANE AUSTEN LITERARY WALKING TOURS IN LYME REGIS

© Literary Lyme Walking Tours 

Have we got the competition for you! For all you Jane Austen Persuasion fans, we have got the chance to visit Lyme Regis, where Persuasion is set and go on a Jane Austen tour of the town.

Jane Austen visited Lyme Regis in England on at least two separate occasions and set Persuasion, her last novel, in the town. On the Jane Austen tour we follow in the footsteps of Jane Austen and her characters around Lyme Regis. During the Jane Austen tour we take a walk along the Cobb to see the steps from which Louisa Musgrove fell on the famous harbour wall and visit the inns mentioned in Persuasion. We see the house in which she stayed and enjoy the pleasure of Lyme Regis's views, knowing that you are seeing the same sights as Jane Austen saw and loved.