Colm Tóibín on Persuasion, the Navy, and a special letter

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As Jane Austen turns 250, Austen biographer and writer Dr Paula Byrne is joined by prominent thinkers, writers and directors who tell her about their encounters with the famous author. Each of her guests has been shaped and changed by Austen. Paula's guests inspire her own reflections about Austen's life and works. Today it's the turn of Colm Tóibín. Austen's final published novel, Persuasion, was the first Austen novel that Irish novelist Colm Tóibín encountered. It was on the syllabus at his school in County Wexford and he vividly remembers one of his classmates reading aloud a letter that the novel's hero, Captain Wentworth, writes. It's a striking piece of writing, passionate and agonised - beginning with the line: "I can listen no longer in silence." Colm says Persuasion is all about a changing England, how a system of inherited wealth and titles is being replaced by something new. And that's thanks to the Navy. In Persuasion, Wentworth returns to the lead character Anne Elliot's world after almost nine years apart. In that time, he has risen in status due to his Naval career. Paula reflects on how Austen's representation of the Navy changes through her work, and how the Navy changed life for her own family. For Colm, Persuasion remains his favourite Austen novel and it has profoundly influenced his own writing. Presenter: Dr Paula Byrne Reader: Gemma Whelan Producer: Camellia Sinclair