Captain Frederick Wentworth's Age
CAPTAIN FREDERICK WENTWORTH'S AGE
At the moment, I am reading Austen's novel, "Persuasion". It has led me to wonder over a little mystery - namely the age of one Captain Frederick Wentworth.
The novel indicated that Anne Elliot was 27 years old in the story. It also indicated that Frederick Wentworth's sister, Mrs. Croft, was 38 years old. However, I am at a loss over the age of Captain Wentworth. Does anyone know how old he is? Both the 1971 and the 2007 versions indicated that he was younger than his sister. Mrs. Croft is always portrayed by an actress at least in her 50s. Both Bryan Marshall and Rupert Penry-Jones were in their mid-30s when they portrayed Wentworth. The 1995 movie seemed to be the exception. Mrs. Croft was portrayed by Fiona Shaw, who was 37 years old at the time. And Ciaran Hinds was at least 42 years old, making him five years older.
It seems apparent that the 1995 movie had hired an actress at the right age to portray Mrs. Croft. But had its producers been right to hire a man in his early 40s to portray Wentworth? Had the producers of the 1971 and 2007 versions been right to cast an actor in his 30s to play the role?
Did Austen's novel ever indicate Wentworth's age? I am in the middle of the novel right now - the character of Charles Hayter had just been introduced. So far, I have not come across any indication of his age. Will I ever? Or will Wentworth's age remain a mystery?