Pride and Prejudice

jane austen irene sutcliffe

One of the best-loved works of English literature, Pride and Prejudice follows Elizabeth Bennet (Austen's favorite of all her creations) and her four sisters through a series of romantic adventures - and misadventures. Affections, affectations, and shenanigans abound due to Mrs. Bennet's relentless matchmaking, the devious Wickham, and Elizabeth's tempestuous relationship with the snobbish Mr. Darcy, which the meddlesome Lady Catherine de Bourgh is determined to crush out. In addition to being Austen's most popular novel, Pride and Prejudice also contains some of her most astringent comments on manners and morals.

Genres fictionhistorical fictionhistoricalliteratureaudiobooknovelshistorical romanceclassic literatureadultschool

null pages, Audio CD

First published January 28,1813

Places

derbyshire england, hertfordshire england, england,

This edition

Format: null pages, Audio CD
Published: January 1, 2005 by BBC Audiobooks America
ISBN: 9781572705005
ASIN: 1572705000
Language: English

Characters More characters

Mr. Bennet

The patriarch of the Bennet family, a gentleman of modest income with five unmarried daughters. Mr. Bennet has a sarcastic, cynical sense of humor that he uses to purposefully irritate his wife. Though he loves his daughters (Elizabeth in particular), he ...
Mrs. Bennet

Mr. Bennets wife, a foolish, noisy woman whose only goal in life is to see her daughters married. Because of her low breeding and often unbecoming behavior, Mrs. Bennet often repels the very suitors whom she tries to attract for her daughters....
Jane Bennet

The eldest and most beautiful Bennet sister. Jane is more reserved and gentler than Elizabeth. The easy pleasantness with which she and Bingley interact contrasts starkly with the mutual distaste that marks the encounters between Elizabeth and Darcy....
Mary Bennet

The middle Bennet sister, bookish and pedantic....
Kitty Bennet

The fourth Bennet sister. Like Lydia, she is girlishly enthralled with the soldiers...
Lydia Bennet

The youngest Bennet sister, she is gossipy, immature, and self-involved. Unlike Elizabeth, Lydia flings herself headlong into romance and ends up running off with Wickham....

About the author

jane austen

Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her deft use of social commentary, realism and biting irony have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.

The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), were a modest success but brought her little fame in her lifetime. She wrote two other novels—Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1817—and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. She also left behind three volumes of juvenile writings in manuscript, the short epistolary novel Lady Susan, and the unfinished novel The Watsons.
Since her death Austen's novels have rarely been out of print. A significant transition in her reputation occurred in 1833, when they were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series (illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering and sold as a set). They gradually gained wide acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience. Her work has inspired a large number of critical essays and has been included in many literary anthologies. Her novels have also inspired many films, including 1940's Pride and Prejudice, 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 2016's Love & Friendship.