Pride and Prejudice

Description

Pride and Prejudice is one of the best known books by English author Jane Austen. It was first published in 1813, and remains very popular over two hundred years later. The book tells the story of Elizabeth Bennet, a young woman who lives in rural England. Her mother's main ambition is to see her, along with her four sisters - Jane, Mary, Catherine, and Lydia - married off to wealthy men. At a ball, Elizabeth meets Fitzwilliam Darcy, a wealthy, handsome, intelligent man. He dances with Jane and does not seem attracted to Elizabeth. However, as the story progresses and they become more acquainted with each other, he finds himself falling for her, and she realises that under his proud and aloof exterior, he is a kind and decent man. Despite the obstacles in their way (including the jealous, snobby Caroline Bingley, who has her eyes on Darcy herself and believes that Elizabeth does not have enough social standing to marry him), the two get together, much to the happiness of Mr and Mrs Bennett. At the heart of it, this is a romance book, but it is also considered by some to be a satire in it's depiction of marriage, manners, etc, in early nineteenth century England. At a time when marriage within wealthy families was more about social status, the story departs from this - Elizabeth and Darcy fall in love. In fact, she only accepts his proposal when she is certain about that love.

№ 1 in Goodreads 100 Best Nineteenth-Century British and Irish Novels.

№ 5 in 20 Classic Books You Must Read Before You Die.

№ 11 in The BBC's 100 Greatest British Novels.

Part of the Harvard Classics set.

This book has 122,045 words, 235 pages in the PDF version, and was originally published in 1813.

Production notes: This ebook of Pride and Prejudice was published by Global Grey on the 1st March 2021, and updated on the 14th June 2022. The artwork used for the cover is 'Courtship' by Edmund Leighton.