Jane Austen's final novel Persuasion is one of her most intense and readable, charting the journey of Anne Elliott from impressionable youth to independent adulthood.

Austen's primary topic within this work is the personal development of her protagonist Anne Elliott, whose naivete and tendency to accept the advice of others without due consideration is shown to be an obstacle. We see her reject - on the advice and opinions of others - a suitor named Commander Frederick Wentworth who in terms of personality is a very good fit. Hereafter Anne weathers the financial troubles her family fall under, navigating a number of trials produced at no fault of her own.

Through her various adventures and associations in society, Anne gradually turns from an easily influenced girl to a woman with considerable independence and faculties upon her own life and destiny. Her perception and self-awareness eventually reach a point where her peers apologise for offering her poor advice in years gone by.