Jane Austen turned 250 this year, and I celebrated her quietly—very quietly—at home in Washington State, while rain poured steadily outside. Though floodwaters rose in many areas here in Western Washington, from the safety of my home, the rain seemed suited for reflection and long glances out the window. I didn’t attend a ball or host a tea (confession: I didn’t drink tea at all). Instead, I brewed coffee, indulged in pastries, and settled in for an all-day Austen movie marat

Popular Austenesque author L.L. Diamond shares why this scene from Chapter 23 in Jane Austen's Persuasion is her favorite.