Paperback, 311 pages
English language
Published 1968 by Pan Books Ltd.
Of all Jane Austen's novels, this is her brightest and gayest triumph. she rvels in the complicated dance set by Society; the regimented steps observed by the upper - and middle-classes ; the final chord of happiness that sends these barriers tumbling down.
Mr Bennet's five eligible daughters will never inherit their father's money. Neither will their scatterbrained mother. The family fortunes are destined to pass to Mr Collins, the pompous parson. Should one of the daughters marry him? Or is there a chance for empty-headed Mr Bringley (£5,000 a year)? And what about proud Mr Darcy? Yet both these men seem less exciting than handsome Mr Wickham - a man as profligate as he is poor.
I expected something deeper/monumental, having known nothing about the book before. But for such an old book it is well written and the characters and love story are cute ☺️
Pride And Prejudice is a difficult novel for me to review because, although this was my first reading of Austen's work, I have already encountered its essential storyline in televised adaptations and numerous other novels so I felt as though I was revisiting the book rather than coming to it fresh. I enjoyed the humour, especially Austen's partly-veiled observations on the predicament of women rendered useless without a husband and, of course, her wonderful characters. Austen had such a talent for observation and for just exaggerating foibles enough to make people such as Mrs Bennet and Lady Catherine ridiculous, but not unbelievable. Personally I wasn't convinced by Darcy's complete change of behaviour mid-book, but both he and Elizabeth have wonderfully sparkling conversations and spats with the great energy fairly leaping from the page. The repression of their social situation contrasts brilliantly with the obvious strength of their emotional attraction to …
Pride And Prejudice is a difficult novel for me to review because, although this was my first reading of Austen's work, I have already encountered its essential storyline in televised adaptations and numerous other novels so I felt as though I was revisiting the book rather than coming to it fresh. I enjoyed the humour, especially Austen's partly-veiled observations on the predicament of women rendered useless without a husband and, of course, her wonderful characters. Austen had such a talent for observation and for just exaggerating foibles enough to make people such as Mrs Bennet and Lady Catherine ridiculous, but not unbelievable. Personally I wasn't convinced by Darcy's complete change of behaviour mid-book, but both he and Elizabeth have wonderfully sparkling conversations and spats with the great energy fairly leaping from the page. The repression of their social situation contrasts brilliantly with the obvious strength of their emotional attraction to each other.
I was interested to learn from Ian Littlewood's introduction that Pride And Prejudice was pretty much an overnight success upon its publication, but that it took some sixteen years and at least one drastic rewrite to get to that stage. The book was refused on its first submission in the late 1700s, even though Austen would have paid for the printing herself! An example to authors everywhere of the importance of not giving up!
