Product Description

Few have failed to be charmed by the witty and independent spirit of Elizabeth Bennet. Her early determination to dislike Mr. Darcy is a prejudice only matched by the folly of his arrogant pride. Their first impressions give way to true feelings in a comedy profoundly concerned with happiness and how it might be achieved.

Edited with an Introduction by Vivien Jones

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #4670 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-31
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 480 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780141439518
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Amazon.com Review
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

Next to the exhortation at the beginning of Moby-Dick, "Call me Ishmael," the first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice must be among the most quoted in literature. And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage--tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground.

Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree. --Alix Wilber

About the Author
Jane Austen (1775-1817) lived in and wrote about Regency England. She completed six novels, four of which were published during her lifetime.

Vivien Jones is a senior lecturer in English at the University of Leeds.

From AudioFile
A new version of Austen's classic is part of renewed interest in classics on audio. David's voice has a light, clear quality. She does well with the ladies' voices but make little attempt to differentiate among them. In addition, David makes no change in tone when a gentleman speaks. Her rapid pace through conversational passages makes them hard to follow. The abridgment increases the speed of events which seem slightly at odds with the protracted courtesies and manners, but is generally successful. R.F.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

Customer Reviews

Perfect for first time Austen Readers/A Must for Austen Fans
I have always loved the style and social politics of the Regency period (the time of Jane Austen.) But when I read "Sense and Sensibility" in 7th grade I found the first few chapters lifeless, dull and hard to read. Two years later I was encouraged by a friend to give "Pride and Prejudice" a try. I did and have since become a complete Janeite. I am now able to peruse joyfully through "Sense and Sensibility" with a new understanding and appreciation of Jane Austen. The reason? "Pride and Prejudice" is fresh, witty and is a great introduction to Jane Austen's writing style without the formality of some of her other novels (unlike S&S and Persuasion Austen does not give us a 10 page history of each family and their fortune.) If you have never read Jane Austen or have read her other novels and found them boring, read Pride and Prejudice. The characters, and the situations Austen presents to them, are hysterical and reveal a lot about Regency society and morality. This book perfectly compliments a great writer like Jane Austen and is essential to every reader's library. The Penguin Edition of the book is stellar and I personally recommend it not only for the in-depth and indispensable footnotes, but also for the cover that is non-suggestive of any of the characters' appearances. In summary "Pride and Prejudice" is a great book for beginner Austen readers and seasoned fans, and Penguin Classics is a great edition for fully enjoying and understanding the book.

Classic Literature At Its Best
My favorite book in all of English literature. Many people have criticized me. I am an English major, who is supposed to love Ulysses, but instead I love Jane Austen with a passion, and this is the best of her books. Austen is why I am an English major. Elizabeth Bennet is who I aspire to be one day-she is the heroine of my romantic dreams. And Darcy's gradual warming throughout the novel, especially his warming to Elizabeth, is charming and beautiful. The language is extremely engaging. And I beilieve Austen was a proto-feminist. Elizabeth Bennet is truly an independent female with strong opinions, at least for her day. And the older Bennet couple are just perfect foils of each other, which forced a couple of chuckles. There were also very fascinating characters, such as Bingley and sisters, and also the younger Bennet sisters, especially the one who elopes. Aaaah, I think I have read this book hundreds of times, and I still find beauty in every single passage in every single page. Yes, it may not be very deep by literary standards, but it is something that appeals to my heart more than to my brain. I allow myself the pleasure of rejoicing at the end, although I know every single word of the ending. But as in all Victorian novels, it leaves a lingering hope in my heart: when will my hero come along?? AAAh, one can hope. Well, I've exhausted this book, without giving up too much hope. Read this book, and read it again. It's worth it. And why don't you try Emma or Sense and Sensibility? Mansfield Park-eh, not that great, but truly the best of Austen lies in Pride and Prejudice, no matter how trite that may sound.

Penguin setting the Kindle ebook standard
I won't presume to review Austen, so this review covers the quality of the Penguin release. Many of us have discovered that the "free" ebooks on Gutenburg and other sites frequently have such poor formatting that they are irritating to read. One can either re-edit the book to fix the problems, or just live with them and have an inferior and annoying reading experience.

Penguin's P&P is the closest ebook equivalent to the joy of reading a quality physical book--the text is perfectly formatted for the Kindle, it's been proofed, and the supplemental material is almost overwhelming. Detailed intros, useful hyperlinking and a wealth of information on Austen's times, including fashion, furniture, and food and drink, are included. It's truly an immersive experience.

I believe this book will be seen as a turning point for ebooks: the point at which editorial and publishing quality became a significant purchase criterion. Early ebook adopters (myself included) were willing to spend hours cleaning up Gutenburg editions and formatting them for the device du jour. No longer. The ebook is moving past the early adopter stage and is making inroads into a market that expects quality editing, publishing, and supplemental materials. I'll definitely pay a reasonable amount for an ebook that I can just start reading, instead of tinkering with, and that provides a comfortable feeling of having gotten one's money's worth.

Penguin has set the bar for ebook quality with this release. I urge anyone with a Kindle to get a copy--*this* is the ebook experience we've been wanting.