The value of just doing the work.

In which we see why Anne is the most Virgo of all of Austen's characters.

Austen lets Mrs. Smith say the quiet parts out loud.

Austen shows us what a difference the perfect setting can make.

The river of the plot is about to carry us to the end.

Austen's novels ostensibly end with a happy marriage, but does she ever depict one?

A new character comes on the scene to set up our final plot twist.

Austen turns up the suspense on two long-simmering subplots.

Watch Austen trash her characters as only she can.

A close reading of how Austen uses the slipperiness of omniscient narration to her advantage.

Austen stitches the broken thread of her plot back into the narrative.

Austen twists the plot and shows her characters their true selves.

Just because race is occluded in Persuasion, that doesn't mean it isn't present.

How do we bring the lens of race to a story that seems to resist it?

Austen deploys a miniature version of her main story question to show it in a different light.

The story question is clear: Can two right-thinking people in a sea of fools navigate past their previous heartbreak to come together once more?

Learn how Austen uses point of view to create drama and suspense in a scene without much external action.

See the moment Austen activates a key backstory element to enliven the plot.

Austen provides the dangerous Mrs Clay as a suspenseful subplot, not resolved until the end of the novel.

In which Austen reveals the backstory between Anne Elliot and Captain Wentworth.