Before the rest of the sentence lists reasons to read, the opening clause of Jane Austen's "Persuasion" begins with public information about a character's title, name, estate, and country of residence, shifts to private information, and ends with a twist: "Sir Walter Elliot, of Kellynch-hall, in Somersetshire, was a man who, for his own amusement, never took up any book but the Baronetage [...]." In turn, the "Baronetage" includes an entry that also begins with Sir Walter's name and estate (though not his county). This clause thus immediately establishes the emptiness of his character: a frame of public information around a private self whose only "amusement" is his public persona. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 7 April 2021)

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Amusing himself with himself: Sir Walter Elliot in the first clause of Jane Austen's "Persuasion"