Both Jane Austen's Persuasion and Louisa May Alcott's Little Women tell stories of sisters' families in nineteenth-century England and America. The first is the story of Anne Elliot who had given up Fredrick Wentworth eight years before the novel's setting after being "persuaded" to do so by her old family friend, Lady Russell. Realizing that she has made a terrible mistake once Fredrick returns, richer and more professionally successful, Anne struggles within herself over how much to reveal her feelings for him. Meanwhile, four sisters: Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy grow up during the American Civil War with her father, Reverend March Faraway as a chaplain for the Union Army and her mother Marmee struggling to make ends meet. Very different in personalities, the sisters face hardships, growing pains, and the chance to develop their individual talents. In both novels their characters compare and differ enormously. What makes reading these two novels interesting is how you can compare the characters in one novel to the next. For starters, one of the main characters of Little Women, Jo March, can be compared to the main character of Persuasion, Anne Elliot. Both are the second oldest among their sisters, ironically both have only sisters, and both rejected the poor man's proposal. Although Anne accepted the proposal and changed her mind, they still show extreme similarities. Even with these similarities they have one important difference. Jo March is a tomboy and Anne Elliot is beautiful. Also, Little Women's older sister Meg March can be compared to Persuasion's older sister Elizabeth Elliot in which both are the most beautiful of all... middle of paper... .s love for her. "Captain Wentworth, with twenty-five thousand pounds, and with his profession as high as merit and activity could place him, was no one any more."(1) It's funny how money worked in the nineteenth century. They eventually get engaged and Anne's family is more accepting of the engagement since Fredrick is rich. As you can see, these novels are brilliant together. The novels are similar in some aspects and in other aspects they are completely opposite. This is what makes them so interesting to read. The characters in these novels are absolutely gorgeous. It's always nice to see how close these families are deep down. Love stories in novels make them even more compelling to read as almost all readers love a good love story with drama. Jane Austen and Louisa M. Alcott have the same ideas in some aspects and different in others.