I have to be honest with you. I’m smitten and I’m in a moral dilemma because I don’t know who to prefer. I always thought Mr Darcy to be the most wonderful gentleman of all and then there comes Captain Wentworth who is just as perfect.

As some of you can probably guess, I’ve been reading Jane Austen’s Persuasion. Set in 19th century England, this novel is a trip through the drawing rooms of grand estates and stately cottages with the occasional tour to the English countryside. You really start longing to go on holiday to Bath or Lyme.

In Persuasion, 27-year-old Anne Elliot, a young, intelligent woman past her bloom, is reintroduced to her former fiancée Frederick Wentworth. Wentworth, now a Captain with a large fortune, is on the lookout for a future wife, but he doesn’t seem to take any interest in Anne.

In the beginning, I really wasn’t sure who this book was about, Elizabeth Elliot or her sister Anne (I admit, I didn’t properly read the synopsis). It takes Jane Austen quite some time to stop talking about Elizabeth and finally introduce our heroine Anne. When at some point Captain Wentworth emerges, his interaction with Anne reminds me of English country dancing. The two of them occasionally come near each other just to move apart once again. As the plot takes its course, Captain Wentworth’s character develops from a carefree bachelor into this responsible man who is able to charm millions of readers out there. From this point onwards I was lost, I almost read the whole night through. With Persuasion, Jane Austen puts you onto an emotional roller coaster ride: So much hope, love and agony in one book is hard to bear.