6 Persuasion - Abridged By Stephanie Poppins

In 1813, 54-year-old widower Sir Walter Elliot of Kellynch Hall, Somerset reviews his entry in the list of nobles in order to take his mind off his troubles. He has overspent his income and is deep in debt. His daughter Mary is insulated from the crisis because she is married but it impacts the lives of his unmarried daughters, Elizabeth and Anne. Sir Walter dotes on Elizabeth but ignores Anne.

In this episode, Anne spends two months in Uppercross - the home of her sister Mary, her husband Charles and their two children.
Charles' sisters - Louisa and Henrietta - visit, and there is news of Anne's former love interest Frederick Wentworth, coming to visit his sister (Mrs Croft) at Kellynch Hall.

Transcript

Hello.

Welcome to Sleep Stories with Steph,

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Come with me as we immerse ourselves in a romantic journey to a time long since forgotten.

But before we begin,

Let's take a moment to focus on where we are now.

Take a deep breath in through your nose and let it out with a long sigh.

That's it.

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It is time to relax and fully let go.

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Happy listening.

Persuasion by Jane Austen Chapter Six Anne had not wanted this visit to Uppercross to learn that a removal from one set of people to To learn that a removal from one set of people to another,

Though at a distance of only three miles,

Will often include a total change of conversation,

Opinion and idea.

She wished the other Elliotts could have her advantage at seeing how unknown or unconsidered there were the affairs at Kellynch Hall.

She had expected rather more curiosity and sympathy than she'd found in the separate but very similar remark of Mr and Mrs Musgrove.

So Miss Anne,

Sir Walter and your sister are gone and what part of Bath do you think they will settle in?

Said one.

I hope we shall be in Bath in the winter,

But remember if we do go we must be in a good situation.

None of your queen squares for us,

Said another.

Anne could only resolve to avoid such self-delusion in future and think with heightened gratitude of the extraordinary blessing of having one such truly sympathising friend as Lady Russell.

The Musgroves had their own game to guard and to destroy,

Their own horses,

Dogs and newspapers to engage them,

And the females were fully occupied in all the other common subjects of housekeeping,

Neighbours,

Dress,

Dancing and music.

Anne acknowledged it to be very fitting that every little social commonwealth should dictate its own matters of discourse and hoped ere long to become a not unworthy member of the one she was now transplanted into.

With a prospect of spending at least two months at Hoppercross,

It was highly incumbent on her to clothe her imagination,

Her memory and all her ideas in as much of Hoppercross as possible.

She had no dread of these two months.

Mary was not so repulsive and unsisterly as Elizabeth,

Nor so inaccessible to all her influence of hers.

She was always on friendly terms with her brother-in-law,

And in the children who loved her nearly as well,

And respected her a great deal more than their mother.

Anne had an object of interest,

Amusement and wholesome exertion.

Charles Musgrove was civil and agreeable.

In sense and temper he was undoubtedly superior to his wife,

But not of powers or conversational grace to make the past,

As they were connected together at all a dangerous contemplation.

Though at the same time Anne could believe with Lady Russell that a much more equal match might have greatly improved him,

And that a woman of real understanding might have given more consequence to his character.

As it was,

He did nothing with much zeal but sport,

And his time was otherwise trifled away without benefit from books or anything else.

He had very good spirits,

Which never seemed much affected by his wife's occasional loneliness,

And upon the whole,

Though there was very often a little disagreement,

They might pass for a happy couple.

They were always perfectly agreed in the want of more money,

And a strong inclination for a handsome present from his father.

But here,

As on most topics,

He had this superiority.

For a while,

Anne's sister Mary thought it a great shame that such a present was not made.

Her husband always contended for his father's having many other uses for it,

And a right to spend it as he liked.

As to the management of their children,

Mr Musgrove's theory was much better than his wife's,

And his practice not so bad.

I could manage them very well if it were not for Mary's interference,

Was what Anne often heard him say,

And she had a good deal of faith in it.

But when listening in turn to Mary's reproach of Charles Spors,

The children,

So I cannot get them into any order,

She never had the smallest temptation to say,

Very true.

One of the least agreeable circumstances of her residence there was her being treated with too much confidence by all parties,

And being too much in the secret of the complaints of each house.

Known to have some influence with Mary,

She was continually requested,

Or at least receiving hints to exert it,

Beyond what was practicable.

I wish you could persuade Mary not to be always fancying herself ill,

Was Charles's language.

Anne,

In an unhappy mood,

Thus spoke Mary,

I do believe if Charles were to see me dying,

He would not think there was anything the matter with me.

I'm sure,

Anne,

If you would,

You might persuade him I really am very ill,

A great deal worse than I ever own.

Mary's declaration was,

I hate sending the children to the great house,

For though their grand-mama is always wanting to see them,

She humours and indulges them to such a degree,

And gives them so much sweet things,

They're sure to come back sick and cross for the rest of the day.

And Mrs.

Musgrove took the first opportunity of being alone with Anne to say,

Oh Miss Anne,

I cannot help wishing Mrs.

Charles had a little of your method with those children,

They're quite different creatures with you,

But to be sure in general they're so spot,

She knows no more how they should be treated,

How troublesome they are sometimes.

I believe Mary is not quite pleased with my not inviting them oftener,

But you know it's very bad to have children with one that is obligated to be checking every moment,

Don't do this and don't do that.

Then Mary would say,

Mrs.

Musgrove thinks all her servants so steady that it would be high treason to call it a question,

But I'm sure without exaggeration her upper housemaid and laundry maid,

Instead of being in their business,

Are gadding about the village all day long.

I meet them wherever I go and I declare I never go twice into my nursery without seeing something of them.

If Jemima were not the truest,

Steadiest creature in the world,

It would be enough to spoil her,

For she tells me they're always tempting her to take a walk with them.

Then Mrs.

Musgrove would say,

I make a rule of never interfering in any of my daughter-in-law's concerns,

For I know it would not do,

But I shall tell you,

Miss Anne,

Because you may be able to set to rights that I have no very good opinion of her nursery maid.

I hear strange stories of her,

She's always upon the gad,

And from my own knowledge I can declare she is such a fine dressing lady,

She's enough to ruin any servant she comes near.

Mary quite swears by her,

I know,

But I'll give you this hint,

You may be upon the watch,

Because if you see anything amiss,

You need not be afraid of mentioning it.

How was Anne to set all these matters to rights?

She could do little more than listen patiently,

Soften every grievance and excuse each to the other.

In all other respects,

Her visit began and proceeded very well.

Her own spirits improved by change of place and subject,

By being removed three miles from Kellynch.

Mary's ailments lessened by having a constant companion,

And their daily intercourse with the other family,

Since there was neither superior affection,

Confidence nor employment in the cottage,

To be interrupted by it,

Was rather an advantage.

It was certainly carried nearly as far as possible,

For they met every morning and hardly ever spent an evening asunder.

But Anne believed they should not have done so well without the sight of Mr.

And Mrs.

Musgrove's respectable forms in the usual places,

Or without the talking,

Laughing and singing of their daughters.

Anne played a great deal better than either of the Miss Musgroves,

But having no voice,

No knowledge of the harp and no fond parents to sit by and fancy themselves delighted,

Her performance was little thought of.

She knew that when she played she was giving pleasure only to herself,

But this was no new sensation.

Accepting one short period of her life,

She had never since the age of fourteen,

Never since the loss of her dear mother,

Known the happiness of being listened to or encouraged by any just appreciation or real taste.

In music she'd always been used to feel alone in the world,

And Mr.

And Mrs.

Musgrove's fond partiality for their own daughter's performance,

And total indifference to any other person's,

Gave Anne much more pleasure for their sakes than mortification for her own.

The party at the great house was sometimes increased by another company.

The neighborhood was not large,

But the Musgroves were visited by everybody and had more dinner parties and more callers,

More visitors by invitation and by chance,

Than any other family.

The girls were wild for dancing,

And the evenings ended occasionally in an unpremeditated little ball.

There was a family of cousins within a walk of Uppercross,

In less active groups,

Cousins within a walk of Uppercross,

In less affluent circumstances,

Who depended upon the Musgroves for all their pleasures.

They would come at any time and help play at anything or dance anywhere,

And Anne,

Very much preferring the office of musician to a more active post,

Played country dances to them by the hour together,

A kindness which always recommended her musical powers to the notice of Mr.

And Mrs.

Musgrove.

Well done,

Miss Anne,

Mr.

Musgrove would say.

Very well done indeed.

Lord bless me,

How those little things of yours fly about!

And so passed the first three weeks,

And now Anne's heart must be in Kellynch again.

A beloved home made over to others,

All the precious rooms and furniture,

Groves and prospects beginning to own other eyes and other limbs.

She could not think of much else on the 29th of September,

And she had this sympathetic touch in the evening from Mary,

Who,

On having occasion to note down the day of the month,

Exclaimed,

Dear me,

Is this not the day the Crofts were to come to Kellynch?

I'm glad I did not think of it before,

How low it makes me!

The Crofts took possession with true naval alertness and were to be visited.

Mary deplored the necessity for herself.

Nobody knew how much she should suffer.

She should put it off as long as she could.

But was not easy until she talked Charles into driving her over on an early day and was in a very animated,

Comfortable state of imaginary agitation when she came back.

Anne had very sincerely rejoiced in there being no means of her going.

She wished,

However,

To see the Crofts,

And was glad to be within when the visit was returned.

They came.

The master of the house was not at home,

But the two sisters were together,

And as it chanced that Mrs.

Croft fell to the share of Anne,

While the admiral sat by Mary and made himself very agreeable by his good-humoured notice of her little boys,

Anne was well able to watch for likeness,

And if it failed her in the features,

To catch it in the voice or in the turn of sentiment and expression.

Mrs.

Croft,

Though neither torn or fat,

Had a squareness,

Uprightness,

And vigour of form which gave importance to her person.

She had dark eyes,

Good teeth,

And altogether an agreeable face,

Though her reddened and weather-beaten complexion,

The consequence of her having been almost as much at sea as her husband,

Made her seem to have lived some years longer in the world than her real eight and thirty.

Her manners were open and decided,

Like one who had no distrust of herself,

And no doubts of what to do.

Anne gave her credit indeed for feelings of great consideration towards herself in all that related to Kellynch,

And it pleased her,

Especially as she had satisfied herself in the very first half-minute,

That there was not the smallest symptom of any knowledge or suspicion of her on Mrs.

Croft's side to give bias of any sort.

She was quite easy on that head,

And consequently full of strength and courage,

Till for a moment electrified by Mrs.

Croft's suddenly saying,

It was you,

And not your sister,

I find,

My brother had the pleasure of being acquainted with when he was in the country.

Anne hoped she'd outlived the age of blushing,

But the age of emotion she certainly had not.

Perhaps you may not have heard that he's married,

Added Mrs.

Croft.

Anne could now answer as she ought,

And was happy to feel,

When Mrs.

Croft's next word explained it to be Mr.

Wentworth of who she spoke,

That she had said nothing which might not do for either brother.

She immediately felt how reasonable it was that Mrs.

Croft should be thinking and speaking of Edward,

And not of Frederick,

And with shame at her own forgetfulness,

Applied herself to the knowledge of their former neighbour's present state,

With proper interest.

The rest was all tranquillity,

Till,

Just as they were moving,

She heard the Admiral say to Mary,

We are expecting a brother of Mrs.

Croft's here soon,

I dare say you know him by name.

He was cut short by the eager attacks of the little boys,

Clinging to him like an old friend,

And Anne was left to persuade herself as well as she could,

That the same brother might still be in question.

She could not,

However,

Reach such a degree of certainty,

As not to be anxious to hear whether anything had been said on the subject at the other house,

Where the Crofts had previously been calling.

Charles's parents,

Mr.

And Mrs.

Musgrove,

Were to join them that evening,

And it being too late in the year for such visits to be made on foot,

The coach was beginning to be listened for,

When the youngest Miss Musgrove walked in.

She was coming to apologise,

They should have to spend the evening by themselves,

And Mary,

Her mother,

Was quite ready to be affronted,

When Louisa,

Her sister-in-law,

Made everything right by saying,

She only came on foot to leave more room for the harp,

Which was coming in the carriage.

And I will tell you our reason,

She added,

And all about it,

I am come to give you notice that Papa and Mama are out of spirits,

She is thinking so much of poor Richard,

And we agreed it would be best to have the harp,

For it seems to amuse her more than the piano.

When the Crofts called this morning,

And they called here afterwards,

Didn't they?

They happened to see Mrs.

Croft's brother,

Captain Wentworth,

Just returned to England,

Or been paid off or something,

And is coming to see them almost directly.

Well,

Captain Wentworth was the name of poor Richard's captain at one time,

I do not know when or where,

But a great while before he died,

Poor fellow.

The real circumstances of this pathetic piece of family history were,

The Musgroves had the ill fortune of a very troublesome,

Hopeless son called Richard.

He had been sent to sea because he was stupid and unmanageable on shore.

He had been very little cared for at any time by his family,

Though quite as much as he deserved,

But he was seldom heard of,

And scarcely at all regretted,

When the intelligence of his death abroad had worked its way to Uppercross two years before.

In the course of his several years at sea,

He had been six months on board Captain Frederick Wentworth's frigate,

And there he had written the only two letters which his father and mother had ever received from him during the whole of his absence.

Two disinterested letters,

All the rest had been mere applications for money.

In every letter he had spoken well of Captain Wentworth,

But so unobservant and incurious were his parents,

The Musgroves.

It had made scarcely any impression at the time.

Now Mrs.

Musgrove was suddenly struck with a recollection of the name of Wentworth as connected with her son.

She had gone to her letters and found all she supposed,

And the reperusal of such had affected her spirits exceedingly,

And thrown her into greater grief for him than she'd known on first hearing his death.

To hear them talking so much of Captain Wentworth,

And repeating his name so often,

Was a new sort of trial to Anne's nerves.

She found,

However,

It was one to which she must inure herself.

Since he actually was expected in the country,

She must teach herself to be insensible on such points.

And not only did it appear he was expected and speedily,

But the Musgroves,

In their warm gratitude for the kindness he'd shown poor Dick,

And very high respect for his character,

Stamped as it was by poor Dick's having six months under his care,

And mentioning him in a strong,

Though not perfectly well-spelt phrase,

As a fine dashing fellow,

Only too particular about the schoolmaster,

Were bent on introducing themselves,

And seeking his acquaintance,

As soon as they could hear of his arrival.

The resolution made of doing so,

Helped to form the comfort of their evening.

Reviews

👋🏻 Stephanie & D. Luv these old Classics. Read all the books as a girl & this is just another way to enjoy them, since you're truly passionate about them too, it only makes it more enjoyable. Cheers lovely. 🐈‍⬛🐆😘🤗🪷

And the foreshadowing is complete… can’t wait to hear, you’ve got me hooked on another!
Thank you Steph!🙏🏽❤️

Must listen to this chapter again. Too sleepy during the second half to follow the story clearly. There was something sweet about the movie version I saw. Hoping the book reveals something similar. 😊🤞