Persuasion

(Graded reader for bilingual students)

At nineteen Anne Elliot refuses an offer of marriage from Frederick Wentworth, persuaded to do so by Lady Russell, a friend of her dead mother. Wentworth is a sailor, with no money and an uncertain future, says Lady Russell -- just a nobody, certainly not worthy of a baronet's daughter.

Eight years later Wentworth returns, a rich and successful captain, looking for a wife. Anne is still unmarried, but Captain Wentworth clearly prefers the company of the two Musgrove girls...

Jane Austen's tale of love and marriage is told with humour and a sharp understading of human behaviour.