Customer Reviews

Persuading Annie

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"Persuading Annie" is Melissa Nathan's reworking of Jane Austen's classic "Persuasion". It follows the fate of the Markham family - owners of a once prestigious PR firm that is fast losing money and sending the family into possible bankruptcy. Nathan has reworked Austen's central characters (Anne, her loopy father and sisters, and Captain Wentworth) into believable, vulnerable and often hilarious modern persons.

The story beings in 1994 when the youngest of the Markham daughters, Annie, believes herself to be pregnant at the age of nineteen. She is prepared to elope with her boyfriend Jake, when she discovers that she was only late, not pregnant. Jake doesn't stick around long enough to hear the truth of the matter and leaves Annie heartbroken and bitter before her years. Skip ahead seven years, when Jake re-enters Annie's life, as the only possible savior to her family's impending doom. He is hired on as a marketing consultant who can resurrect Markham's PR, but must contend with the perceivably bitchy Annie and his own feelings about what transpired between the two of them. And little did either Jake or Annie suspect that they would have to confront their emotions towards the other.

Melissa Nathan's prose is quick-paced, light-hearted and witty. Her characters come to life as their stories intertwine to follow the plotline of Austen's "Persuasion". At times there seem to be an overabundance of characters, but their fates are so intertwined with those of the main characters and every subplot is completed by the novel's end. "Persuading Annie" is a quick, enjoyable read; especially for Austen fans who wish there were more original Jane Austen material to read. Melissa Nathan's novels are a worthy substitute.

Melissa Nathan, who previously wrote a modern version of Pride and Prejudice, take a stab at updating Persuasion in Persuading Annie.

Overall, Persuading Annie is a good chick-lit book. I found both Annie and Jake to be likable characters with a believable relationship, although the supporting characters can get a bit campy at times. Some of the adaptations Nathan makes to Persuasion (the Markhams own a large company rather than an estate, how Jake returns to Annie's life, the alley scene) were great, while others seemed to be a bit of a stretch. But the book is still funny and well paced.

Persuading Annie is an enjoyable book, although I prefer Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmin Field. Austen fans will get a kick out of seeing Persuasion's characters in a modern setting.

In Persuading Annie, author Melissa Nathan has paid homage to Jane Austen's classic novel Persuasion with not only her title but also her cast of characters. Annie, a young, motherless college student from a wealthy family, is persuaded to reconsider her plans to elope with her college sweetheart, Jake, by her interfering stepmother. Seven years later, Annie is still unhappily single, and the family business is rapidly going downhill. Re-enter Jake, a business consultant, to not only save the family but possibly Annie as well.

Although Nathan mirrors Austen's style of using chance encounters, misunderstandings, and various group outings to futher the plot, her writing lacks Austen's wit as well as its unique charm. This leaves the reader with a very average, somewhat amusing boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl back story which ultimately fails to live up to the classic novel which inspired it.

Author Melissa Nathan continues her love of all things Jane Austen with an updated version of "Persuasion" with a couple twists to update it for the 21st century.

After a home pregnancy test reveals she is pregnant, Annie Markham is ready to elope with her boyfriend Jake. But family machinations have a way of rearing their ugly heads, as family friend Susannah plants seeds of doubt in Annie's mind (Annie is an heiress, while Jake is working class). When she suddenly gets her period and is in shock, a fight with Jake results in his leaving her, thinking that she lied to him.

Fast forward seven years. Annie still couldn't be more different then her two sisters, Katherine and Victoria, both of whom spend the family fortune as if it might disappear. Of course, the Markham family PR firm is finding itself in dire straights, and in need of a miracle. Enter management consulting whiz Jake Mead, the same Jake that shares a past with Annie. As Annie schemes to keep her distance from Jake, they do in fact run into each other (when she is not at her best, of course). He is still reeling that she dumped him without explanation; she cannot forgive him for walking out on her in her time of need. He reveals to his shrink that he does not want closure from Annie and her family - he wants revenge. Annie still feels a connection to her first love, but keeps the long-ended relationship a secret from her family, while they try to marry her off to the Markham CEO, and encourage Jake into a romance with the young sister of Victoria's husband.

Will either of them ever have the guts to be truthful about their feelings and revisit the pain of their youth? Nathan's excellent prose peppers a truly original adaptation of a classic novel, giving it a great contemporary flavor that is sure to grasp the reader's attention.

I liked Melissa Nathan's other books, particularily Pride..Jasmine Field, but this one was hard to like. Primarily because Annie was such a drip-no backbone whatsoever. Furthermore she stayed a drip till the very end. Her sisters were selfish twits which would have been okay if they provided comic relief. Unfortunately, not. The other characters were two-dimensional and also, not entertaining.

For someone more accurate than a Swiss watch, when she missed her monthly period, Annie Markham assumes she is pregnant. She tells her boyfriend of two months nineteen years old Jake Mead, who reacts by asking her who the father is before collapsing at her feet. Annie and Jake argue even after she learns she is not pregnant over his reaction. They end their relationship although neither truly wants too. Annie figures that her wise godmother Susannah was right about the fickleness and unreliability of men.---

Seven years later, the family business is in trouble. Jake, considered the best consultant in London, is hired to save the firm from bankruptcy. He never got over Annie and how she dumped him; she never got over Jake and how he walked out on her. Annie hides their past from her parents and two sisters, but worries that Jake will use the teetering business to enact revenge. As each parades a potential significant other in front of the other, their love of seven years ago remains strong, but neither wants to risk admitting the truth.---

This fine contemporary chick lit romance moves Jane Austen's PERSUASION into a modern relationship. The story line is character driven as Annie and Jake, supported by a strong secondary cast, battle for "supremacy" the second time around even as denial is their weapon of choice. Jake acts like two people as he conveniently fits Susannah's worthless male stereotype too easily, but also at other times shows he is a responsible person. PERSUADING ANNIE is a wonderful tribute to Ms. Austen as is Melissa Nathan's previous homage to the great author (see PRIDE, PREJUDICE AND JASMIN FIELD).---

Harriet Klausner

I picked up this book because I generally enjoy these re-dos of Jane Austen's work. But this one doesn't hit the mark in any way: it's slow, it's boring, and hard to finish. I just never sensed the emotion or passion between the hero and heroine and the result is that one just plain doesn't care. Stylistically, there is a lot of "head-hopping" which one doesn't see that often and which was interesting to read; but in fact it is a bit confusing and my conclusion was that I don't need to read this style again. In all, this was a disappointing read.

When she thought she was pregnant, nineteen-year-old Annie Markham and her college sweetheart, Jake Mead, happily decided to elope to Paris. However, on the night of their intended departure Annie discovers it was just a false alarm; and when she tries telling Jake this he jumps to the wrong conclusion and assumes the worst of her, launching them both into a bitter argument. Since that fateful day Annie and Jake have not seen or heard from each other. Seven years later, when the Markham's family business is facing dire financial difficulties they hire a management consultant, who happens to be none other than Jake Mead, to save them! Although Jake and Annie strive to hide their past relationship from everyone, they make no attempt to conceal their resentment and distrust for one another. Will Jake be able to save the extravagant Markhams from financial ruin? Will Jake and Annie finally forgive each other and find the peace and closure they have been without these past seven years?

Persuading Annie is a remarkably clever modernization of Jane Austen's Persuasion. Practically all the characters and plot events are represented in this novel! There's: George Markham and his eldest daughter, Katherine, who are as vainglorious as their Regency counterparts, Annie's controlling godmother, Susannah Brooks, a fawning Davina Barker (Mrs. Clay), a slimy Edward Goddard (William Elliot), and the unhappily married Charles and Victoria Norman, who perfectly personify Jane Austen's Charles and Mary Musgrove. In addition, fans of Persuasion will be delighted to find that scenes like Anne overhearing Louisa and Wentworth's conversation, Louisa Musgrove's fall from the Cobb, Wentworth's ardent love letter are not only included in Ms. Nathan's novel, but ingeniously and appropriately updated. I took great pleasure in spotting these clever parallels and found myself amazed with how successfully Ms. Nathan translated Jane Austen's story to contemporary times.

The one aspect of this novel that might disappoint some readers is Ms. Nathan's portrayal of a modern-day Anne Elliot. Besides being passive and heartbroken, Ms. Nathan's Annie can sometimes be described as bitter and hostile. In fact, Annie sometimes resembled Elizabeth Bennet in the beginning of Pride and Prejudice - filled with contempt and very argumentative. While Annie spends a large portion of the novel in this mindset, she does go through a pleasing transformation that endears her to the reader. I sort of enjoyed the fact that Anne wasn't a picture of perfection and complacency.

I found Persuading Annie to be an admirable modernization of Persuasion and a beautiful homage to Jane Austen. I highly recommend Persuading Annie to readers who love Persuasion and are interested in modern adaptions of Jane Austen novels. As for me, I am now most eager to read Ms. Nathan's other modern adaption of Jane Austen novel: Pride, Prejudice, and Jasmin Field.

(Warning: This book contains some mild profanity, and therefore may suitable for mature audiences only).

Austenesque Reviews

MUST READ!!!!
Persuasion is my favorite of all Austen's novels. The story is the most heart wrenching for me. This modern version of my favorite story lives up to the original. You love and hate all the character's in all the right spots. LOVE IT LOVE IT LOVE IT

Persuasion is Jane Austen's last novel. In this modern adaptaion Melissa Nathan attempts to capture the boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy gets girl plot found so often in modern literature. Annie is such an unlikeable character in the beginning, it was hard to get into feeling sympathy for her. I realize the author was trying to show how much Annie changes within the book, but Austen's changes are more subtle. Having her ex-boyfriend rescue her father's company is a break from the way Austen saw the relationship, but, overall, I would not turn the book down if given the opportunity to read it again. It is just that Persuasion is one of my favorite Austen works so I was hoping for so much more.