In Persuasion, her last novel, Austen explores the theme of postponed but enduring love, delayed by class boundaries and excessive pride. Eight years ago, Anne Elliot fell in love with a poor but ambitious young naval officer, Frederick Wentworth. The Elliots were dissatisfied with Anne’s choice, feeling he was not distinguished enough for their family, and her older friend and mentor, Lady Russell, acting in place of Anne’s deceased mother, persuaded her to break off the match. Now 27 and considered a spinster, Anne re-encounters her former fiance, now a captain, as he courts her spirited young neighbor, Louisa Musgrove. The self-interested machinations of Anne’s older sister Elizabeth, of Elizabeth’s friend Mrs. Clay, and of Anne’s father’s heir, William Elliot, constitute an important subplot.