None But You

By Susan Kaye

Book Overview

Now a famous and wealthy captain in His Majestys Navy, Frederick Wentworth has steeled his heart against Anne for eight years. Should he allow her into his heart again, or should he look for love with... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0972852948
• ISBN13: 9780972852944
• Release Date: January 2007
• Publisher: Wytherngate Press
• Length: 252 Pages
• Weight: 0.75 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

Persuasion from a different aspect

I am a huge fan of the works of Jane Austen. I've regularly reread her novels, I've watched the film adaptations with varying amounts of pleasure, and I've read books on the background and historical period of her times. But one aspect of the Jane Austen fan world that I've tried to avoid is the attempt by modern writers to tack on sequels to the stories. They just don't plain work. This time, however, I was in for a surprise with Susan Kaye's None But You, which takes the story of Persuasion, and tells it from the point of view of Captain Frederick Wentworth, and when he meets again the woman he tried to woo and win for himself, Anne Eliot. It's been eight long years since Frederick Wentworth once romanced Anne Eliot. But the courtship ended in failure, with the baronet's daughter rejecting a lieutenant's proposal, and Wentworth returned to shipboard life in the Royal Navy. Now the long wars with Bonaparte have ended, and with his ship being decommissioned, Wentworth now has the rank of Captain, and a sizeable fortune made from raiding French ships. Now he has to wait, until he's either retired from the service, or a new ship is found for him to command. Very much at loose ends, Captain Wentworth accepts an invitation to join his sister, Sophia and her husband at Kellynch Hall -- the very place where he had tried to win Anne Eliot. Now it seems that the proud family has fallen on hard times, and Wentworth thinks that Anne has gone on to marry someone of her own class and station. Despite being wracked by memories of her, seemingly everywhere he turns, Wentworth gets down to the serious business of considering his future, and one that just might include marriage. There are several young ladies of good breeding for him to consider, especially the various Musgrove girls. But in being so close to the Musgroves and Kellynch Hall, he also starts to discover that he might have been mistaken about everything -- a doubt that gains strength when he meets Anne again... This has turned out to be one of the most enjoyable novels that I've read this year. Susan Kaye has done a considerable amount of research for this, for along with building a reasonable past and back story for Wentworth, she also has managed to bring vivid pictures of the naval life, as well as daily living among England's well-to-do families. The dialogue, while partially lifted from Austen, still manages to sound right for the times, without the oh-so-common slippage into modern slang that most authors make the mistake of. The narrative does drag in spots, but in a way, that's part of the charm of this story -- we get the feeling that time is passing, that these two wary souls are rediscovering each other, and that there might be the possibility of a future together. Persuasion is my personal favourite of Jane Austen's novels, and Susan Kaye has done a wonderful job of recreating the story in a new light. It's clear that she has a great deal of respect for Austen's work, and s

A great companion to Jane Austen's Persuasion.

I read Persuasion (once again!) last month and was then surprised to see that Susan Kaye had written this book presenting the story from the viewpoint of Captain Frederick Wentworth. I read the reviews here on the book page and decided to order it because most of the reviews were decidedly favorable. I am most happy that I made that decision. I found this book to be a fascinating indication of how Ms Kaye perceived Frederick Wentworth. This book does not just give readers the Frederick Wentworth we all know from the Jane Austen novel. It takes up during the time Captain Wentworth is still living his life with no expectation of having Anne Elliot in it in the future. I absolutely loved the details Ms Kaye provided regarding the men who choose the naval life as their career. I also appreciated her explanation for why a captain of a ship could have so very much free time on his hands as to go for an extended visit to his brother and sister. A very large portion of this novel takes place before Admiral and Mrs Croft become the tenants of Kellynch Hall, while Frederick is still under the impression that Anne is gone from his life forever. We see their past history told in small pieces, with a wealth of detail added showing how this author thinks their engagement was ended. All of this portion of the book is the idea of Ms Kaye but I was happy to accept them as possible episodes which could have taken place between Anne and Frederick. When Frederick does meet Anne once more he is convinced that he is totally immune to her charms and indeed is determined to find some woman, but not Anne, to be his wife. He knows that it is time for him to consider marriage and so he sets about selecting the woman to fit that need. I really enjoyed the characterization of Louisa Musgrove and Frederick's reactions to her. It fit my ideas of her very closely and I appreciated seeing his reactions to her. I also loved how Frederick was able to view the household of the entire Musgrove family and compare it to his own childhood. It gave me a lot to think about regarding his character formation. This book leaves off after the episode of Louisa's accident at Lyme. We are told that she is recovering, but then comes the cliffhanger. We will all just have to wait until Book Two is published to finish off this story. I can hardly wait to read how Susan Kaye imagines all the interactions at Bath, not to mention the heir, Mr. Elliot.

Love does not forget...

This is a thoughtful retelling of "Persuasion" from Capt. Wentworth's point of view much in the same vain as Pamela Aidan's Fitzwilliam Darcy series. Jane Austen's style never lets us know anything that Anne does not so what's in Wentworth's mind is a mystery. Finally, we hear his side of the story as he tries very hard keep Anne out of his heart and fall in love with another girl (which of course Anne must painfully watch unable to say a thing). Wentworth is suffering greatly too even as he attempts to move on with his life. It's a classic situation -- both in still in love, both hurt by what they don't say -- until the truth finally spills out. I think Jane Austen might have approved. A must read for fans of this story. It left me longing for the second part to be published. Let's hope we don't have to wait as long as Anne did to hear from her Captain again!

Too Good to Miss!!

Picking up this book, I knew I was bound to love it. (Persuasion is one of my all time favorites.) But would I be disappointed? Would she be able to capture the character and the person of dear Captain Wentworth? The book did not disappoint. Quite the contrary. I was delighted from beginning to end. I literally could not put it down. With each reading, I was thrilled more and more. Though we are sometimes let into the thoughts of the Captain in the original, Persuasion truly is Anne's story. This book, however, was written from Captain Wentworth's point of view. The reader gets to see things we have always wanted to observe from this story. Wentworth still on his ship being Captain, through reminiscing: Anne and he when they were young and in love, the proposal, the derision of Sir Walter, etc, etc. This book really pulls you in even though you know the story and how it will all turn out. It is exhilarating being in Wentworth's head, hearing all his thoughts and aware of all his emotions. I found myself talking to him: `Oh, Frederick, Poor Wentworth, Don't think that Captain.' A warning though: this is just Part 1 of 2 books. The second book will not release until next year. This first book ends as Frederick leaves Anne at Uppercross after Lyme and he is about to return. But I wouldn't have waited to read this book for anything. It was just too good to miss. And any Jane Austen fan who loves Persuasion as much as I will not want to miss reading it either.

Frederick Unchained!

What fun to read the thoughts of Austen's heroic Captain Wentworth! Kaye's take on the captain is a wonderful blend of Austen and O'Brien (Master and Commander)that reveals the inner turmoil of the man as he is faced with old ghosts of lost love and still-smarting humiliations as well as young things who regard him as quite the most exciting man to appear in an age. Highly recommended!