The Literate Kitty

I just died a hundred little deaths, watching Netflix’s take on Jane Austen’s final published work, Persuasion . [And, green eyes looking directly at the camera, “I was not the better for it”.]   A s her last completed story,  Persuasion  has always held a special place in my heart, for it is Austen’s most mature, most serious in tone, and most deeply felt… not only for Ms. Austen, who knew of love and loss, but for discerning readers, everywhere.  [If you wanted to go out on a high, you’d make  Persuasion  your last book.] [It should be noted that I'm fine with whatever “favorite” Austen tome anyone prefers, for that is not the point, here; the point, if you will, is that her stories—though set in a very specific period (the early 1800s)—have always translated easily , to other generations, other centuries… without the use of special plot devices that change the very tone of her witty, incisive writing.] Yet, what Netflix gives us today is a mind-numbingly modernized piece, ful