A Matter of Persuasion
It is 1882 and Amy Eaton, a member of an old New York family, finds herself tasked with managing a disastrous downturn in the household finances. As a successful author she is able to provide some extra income, but she has to contend with the expectations and extravagances of her father and elder sister, as well as being called upon to assist her younger sister with childcare whenever demanded.
Amy struggles with the family’s disapproval of her writing, and with the constraints placed upon her as an unmarried woman. So it is perhaps unsurprising that she becomes drawn into the emerging campaign for women’s suffrage. And her life becomes even more complicated with the reappearance of the man she was once in love with, who she was persuaded to reject on the grounds of his social inferiority.
Amy’s latest novel is being written in instalments, each one bringing in some much-needed income. But it proves to be her most difficult work yet: the storyline parallels her own, but the ending is uncertain.
This book is a clear homage to Jane Austen’s Persuasion, with obvious similarities between Austen’s England and New York’s Gilded Age. In both cases there is a strict social hierarchy, women’s roles are restricted, and there is a desperate need to find the right sort of husband. But here we can see glimmers of hope, as Amy struggles against the expectations of others and hopes for a future in which women are able to control their own destiny.
The writing may not be quite as subtle as Austen’s (few authors could achieve that), but this was an enjoyable read, and I was cheering Amy on as she quietly dealt with some of the – to a modern reader – outrageous demands of her family. Recommended for all Austen fans.
