Maybe I was not in the right state of emotion when I read this or something, because I enjoyed it less than other Austen's books (although I have never been a huge fan of her in the first place). This book perhaps is the most autobiographical work of Austen, and I feel so sorry if the protagonist Anne Elliott is based on Austen herself because I found her quite dull. However, if I saw it from other perspective, maybe it was because lately I have read so many books in which the female protagonists were pictured as 'kickass', 'badass', and such. Nowadays, there are not many female protagonists whose main virtue is patience. Patience is almost always related to passivity (although not necessarily so), hence the rather slow development of my liking to Anne's personality. 
 Anne Elliott was the middle child in the Elliotts family. Her father placed connection as the most important thing and wealth as the second. Her eldest sister, Elizabeth, is like a carbon copy of her father, and was regarded as the apple of his eyes. Her youngest sister, Mary, has married Charles Musgrove, a wealthy commoner (who pursued Anne's interest before her passivity made him turn to her youngest sister instead), so she has became more important than Anne. Anne was always overshadowed by her sisters, and had little to no importance for her family, but not for Lady Russell, a family friend who was almost like a mother figure to The Elliotts. Lady Russell always had Anne's best interest at heart, and persuaded her to choose husband from 'the right sort', with wealth and high social standing. One by one Anne's pursuers were eliminated, some because Anne had no interest (for example, Charles Musgrove, who later became the husband of her younger sister) and some because Lady Russell told her so (like Frederick Wentworth, a navy officer who had little prospect for the future). 
 Years later, Anne was 27 years old, on the brink of spinsterhood (by that era's standard). Her father's wealth has declined and he was forced to rent his estate at Kellynch Hall. Anne's father and Elizabeth were in great distress because it was not proper for a family as old and important as the Elliott to lose their family house, albeit only temporarily. Anne, however, was in the other kind of distress. She had no objection about the Crofts, a respectable family who was going to rent their house. She was just anxious about the prospect of a certain Frederick Wentworth, who happened to be Mrs. Croft's brother, entering her life again and reminding her about a persuasion gone wrong in the past. 
 Like I said before, Anne's most blatant qualities were her demureness and her levelheadedness, contrasted with Elizabeth's snobby attitude and Mary's tendency to whine about everything. In the beginning, Anne was reduced to the background while Elizabeth walked around with chin held up high and Mary pitied herself for the most trivial things. The characters are introduced here and there, and I feel like I waited for sooooo loooooong until finally something happened directly to Anne. Before that, she was just an observer with so little to say for herself, about as interesting as -I beg your forgiveness, Miss Austen, but it's truly what I feel- a brick wall. 
 I can't help comparing Anne Elliott to Fanny Price in Mansfield Park. Anne was more pitiful because she had a higher social standing and should seriously regarded as more important, but her family ignore her just like that. (view spoiler)[She was also just almost 'trapped' in a romance between cousins, which is kind of okay for that time, but I find it quite...ew-worthy (hide spoiler)] 
 Since the beginning it's quite blatant with whom Anne was going to end up with. The romance happened off pages, mostly in the past, so there were not many lovey-dovey line I could quote. So the book was mostly focused on: 
 1. Anne being a brick wall. 
 2. Anne running away from every single suitors out there. 
 3. Anne's reaaaally sloooow realization that other people's influence should be wisely weighed before taken into consideration. The most important and right decision for her life should be taken by herself (TOOK YOU LONG ENOUGH, ANNE!) 
 I like it well, though. The conclusion is satisfying (and highly expected). I will read it again, maybe, several years from now and see how I think of it then.