Lesson 4.1.1.7

4.1.1.7 Persuasion by Jane Austen Quiz: AQA English Literature A, Unit 1

20 questions

Written by Revision Ninja · Last reviewed 11 October 2026

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Lesson 4.1.1.7, Persuasion by Jane Austen: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA English Literature A (7712), Unit 1: Love through the ages, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. Who is the heroine of Persuasion, whose broken engagement to Wentworth is central to the novel?

    • Anne Elliot, the second daughter of Sir Walter
    • Elizabeth Elliot, the eldest daughter of the family
    • Louisa Musgrove, the lively young woman of Lyme
    • Mary Musgrove, the youngest sister and wife of Charles

  2. Who persuades Anne to break off her engagement to Wentworth?

    • Lady Russell, Anne's friend and mentor
    • Mrs Smith, a widowed friend in Bath
    • Mrs Croft, the wife of a naval captain
    • Lady Dalrymple, a cousin of the family

  3. Which seaside town is the setting of the Cobb episode, where Louisa Musgrove falls?

    • Brighton, a resort on the south coast
    • Lyme Regis, on the Dorset coast
    • Weymouth, a harbour town on the coast
    • Bath, a spa town in Somerset

  4. What is the family estate that Sir Walter Elliot is forced to let?

    • Kellynch Hall, the family's ancestral home
    • Pemberley, a large country house in Derbyshire
    • Mansfield Park, a Northamptonshire estate
    • Thornfield Hall, a manor in the north of England

  5. Which character is the Elliots' heir presumptive and cousin, who is revealed to be untrustworthy?

    • Mr Shepherd, the family's lawyer in Kellynch
    • Charles Musgrove, Mary's husband and Anne's brother-in-law
    • Captain Harville, a friend of Wentworth in Lyme
    • Mr Elliot, the cousin who courts Anne in Bath

  6. Wentworth's letter to Anne includes the phrase 'You pierce my soul'. What does this reveal?

    • his intention to marry Louisa Musgrove in Lyme
    • his plan to leave the navy and buy land
    • his renewed love and emotional vulnerability at the climax
    • his agreement with Lady Russell about the engagement

  7. Which Austen novel was published posthumously in 1817, alongside Northanger Abbey?

    • Mansfield Park, a novel set in Northamptonshire
    • Persuasion, which appeared after her death
    • Emma, a comedy about a matchmaking heroine
    • Sense and Sensibility, a story of two sisters

  8. Anne's age when the novel's main action takes place is closest to:

    • 17
    • 47
    • 27
    • 37

  9. How does the setting of Bath function in the novel?

    • It is a place of social display and renewed contact with former acquaintances
    • It is a farm where Anne lives alone and works
    • It is a naval base where Wentworth is stationed
    • It is a city where the novel's first marriage takes place

  10. Which character's vanity and obsession with rank are satirised by the narrator?

    • Louisa Musgrove, the young woman who falls at Lyme
    • Captain Harville, the kind naval officer in Lyme
    • Mrs Croft, who manages her household with ease
    • Sir Walter Elliot, who admires his own reflection in the baronetage

  11. The naval officers Harville and Benwick are used in the novel mainly to:

    • describe the wealth of the Elliot family
    • explain the rules of navigation at sea
    • show constancy and different responses to loss and love
    • introduce the novel's main villain in Bath

  12. Which statement best describes the novel's treatment of persuasion as a theme?

    • It shows persuasion only as a legal skill in court
    • It ignores the question of advice altogether
    • It argues that persuasion is always a good thing
    • It shows how external advice shapes choices, and how that advice can be wrong

  13. What is the significance of Anne's claim that women's feelings last longer than men's?

    • It is a statement about the organisation of the Royal Navy
    • It proves that Anne has entirely forgotten Wentworth
    • It is a claim the novel complicates, since Wentworth's feeling also endures
    • It is an argument for going to war against France

  14. The Musgrove family's relationship with Anne is best described as:

    • a business partnership managed through lawyers and accounts
    • one in which Anne is often overlooked, though her judgement proves central
    • entirely hostile, with open violence between the households
    • absent from the novel, with no contact at any point

  15. Which social institution is shown to be pressuring Anne to marry?

    • The marriage market shaped by rank, wealth and age
    • The Church's ban on remarriage after separation
    • The law of inheritance in Scotland and Ireland
    • The Royal Navy's promotion board in London

  16. Which narrative technique conveys Anne's inner thoughts in the novel?

    • a chorus of townspeople who comment on events
    • stream of consciousness in the first person throughout
    • epistolary form, with letters from Anne only
    • free indirect discourse, which renders her thoughts in the narrator's voice

  17. Why does Anne's reconciliation with Wentworth depend partly on her willingness to speak?

    • Her father demands a full confession in a letter
    • She must confess a crime before the magistrates in Bath
    • Speaking is a legal requirement before any marriage can take place
    • Her earlier silence let others shape her choice, so speaking openly restores her agency

  18. Which character's renewed attention to Anne confirms the novel's emphasis on constancy over status?

    • Sir Walter Elliot, who values only his rank
    • Lady Dalrymple, who admires Anne's dignity
    • Mr Elliot, whose courtship is motivated by wealth
    • Captain Wentworth, whose merit and feeling endure

  19. A critic argues that Persuasion is more reflective than earlier Austen novels. Which feature best supports this?

    • The use of letters from many characters throughout
    • Anne's extended interior reflection on loss, memory and regret
    • The comic marriages of several minor characters
    • A plot driven mainly by a case of mistaken identity

  20. Captain Wentworth's fortune at the start of the novel is best explained as:

    • inherited from Sir Walter Elliot on his retirement from the navy
    • nonexistent, which is why Anne is disinherited by her father
    • inherited from Lady Russell after her death in Bath
    • earned through naval service and prize money, unlike the inherited Elliot estate

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