...these six chapters at the beginning of Vol. II are my least favorite in the book. After the angst of Anne and Frederick being in each other's company again, and the high drama of Louisa's fall from the Cobb, this section is kind of deflating. I know there needs to be a lull after exciting sections of a narration, if only to catch our breath. But, this lull seems to be a fairly lenghty lull.

There are characters that need to be introduced in Bath - Mrs. Smith and Mr. Elliot - and Bath itself and the workings of the Elliots in the city, but it seems to me as if we, as readers, are just biding our time until next week's chapters when things pick up at a furious rate.

I wonder if Austen would have rewritten some of this section if she could have. Don't get me wrong - Persuasion is my favorite book, and even a lull in a favorite book is better than most book's exciting bits, but still.