Product Description

In a remote Hertfordshire village, a country squire of no great means must marry off his five vivacious daughters. At the heart of this all-consuming enterprise lies the erratic courtship of his second headstrong daughter, Elizabeth Bennet and her aristocratic suitor - Fitzwilliam Darcy.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54773 in Books
• Published on: 2003-09-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 490 pages

Customer Reviews

An educational, exquisite classic of genuine charm
In a crazy attempt to become less illiterate and to learn more about culture and history (instead of allowing my head to be perpetually engrossed in the computer screen), I took it upon myself to start Pride and Prejudice as a part of a mad-cap scheme to complete the BBC's big read.

As you would only ever want to purchase one copy in a lifetime, I thought I would go for a hardback version. This copy was a good book to read although I found the pages were quite thin and when you're reading in the dead of night, each turn of a page seemed to echo around the bedroom like rolling thunder! Having to suffer the continual requests to "turn the light off" and "stop making a noise" - it's probably not a good version if your partner is an insomniac.

The book itself surprised me enormously. I have to say that I struggled with the intensity of the archaic language and almost ridiculous sentence construction (where if you get the intonation wrong... you've had it!) but after 100 pages and two weeks of mind-numbing reading (because of its complexity of writing style and not its content), I found the pages beginning to flow and the appreciation of its literary genius came to the fore.

Many adversaries of the book say that its superficiality and simplicity are too unrewarding and the storyline lacks relevant interest, basically the story of two opposite people finding love after a number of self-made barriers were overcome. However, I found the book reflected a powerful and rich critique of an era of which little is known. Written by an author of that era, the reality and portrayal of the characters was a perfect balance of depth so that one understands their very thoughts and an unfolding narrative of such complexity and charm that it is unlikely to be equalled.

The only surprising thing about the book was that there were three typographical errors as far as I could remember. One would never normally expect to see "Lhaving" in written English...can you find it? On the other hand, this version with hardback cover and bookmark is very nice to read.

Educational, excellent and rewarding.

wow
wow!....Mr Darcy's brilliant! i mean......wow!
Sorry i really love Mr Darcy he's just fantastic!

Anyway even though every one know the story and there's no shocking ending to the story, pride and prejudice is my favourite book of all time. The way the suspense is built up and the climax in the last letter's amazing, and Mr Darcy is defiantly the classic romantic male figure of all time!!!

Appearances Can Be Deceiving about Character
The lasting appeal of Pride and Prejudice is worth explaining to those who haven't read the book or seen the movies before launching into a review of this British classic. First, there may be no finer book at exploring the topic of how appearances can be deceiving. Those who are physically attractive, employ pleasant manners and flatter us will earn our approval and cause us to feel affectionate towards them. Those who are less attractive to regard, keep to themselves and say insulting things will become people we will think poorly of. To see how misleading those reactions can be in assessing character, compare Abraham Lincoln to Jefferson Davis, the head of the Confederacy. Lincoln was dour, ugly and awkward with people. Jefferson Davis was just the opposite. When it came to character, Lincoln had enough to hold the Union together and is now viewed as one of our greatest presidents. Most people don't remember Jefferson Davis unless reminded.

Second, at another level Pride and Prejudice is a delightful romantic comedy that looks at how love develops through a series of painful mischances. Although not as light and funny as Shakespeare's comedies are (A Midsummer Night's Dream comes to mind), Pride and Prejudice will certainly bring a smile to most readers' faces in this regard.

Third, Elizabeth Bennet is one of the best heroines ever imagined. Most readers will identify with her and be rooting for her to succeed. You'll almost feel like you've developed a good friend from reading this book.

Fourth, Jane Austen is very good at poking fun at the pretensions of those who are self-absorbed or fascinated with social position and money. But it's a loving kind of fun. She realizes that these people are just silly . . . and don't know any better. We can enjoy a good laugh at their expense, but we should still love and support them. It's a good model for dealing with any goofy relatives we have.

Fifth, Pride and Prejudice is a benchmark at how far women have come from the days when they often couldn't even inherit property from their fathers. You'll be as outraged as Mrs. Bennet is at these anachronisms . . . but you'll be assuaged to know that the worst of those bad old days are behind us.

So, if those reasons to read Pride and Prejudice appeal to you, read on as I briefly describe the story.

The Bennets have a challenge: They have four unmarried daughters who cannot inherit Mr. Bennet's entailed estate. With few prospects in the neighborhood, Mrs. Bennet is always on the hunt. Mr. Bennet views Mrs. Bennet's fascination with this challenge as being something he would like to distance himself from.

When an eligible young man moves into the area, Mrs. Bennet's instincts are engaged to the fullest. One of her daughters must marry Mr. Bingley. At the next ball, the pickings seem to improve when Mr. Bingley arrives with a friend, Mr. Darcy. Darcy "soon drew the attention of the room by his fine tall person, handsome features, noble mien; and the report . . . of his having ten thousand a year." But Mr. Darcy soon turned the fortune hunters off by only dancing with his sisters and refusing to be introduced to any of the other ladies.

Bingley finds himself very attracted to Jane Bennet and their relationship develops nicely . . . until he leaves suddenly for London with no plans to return. Jane waits for some news from him or his sisters and finds herself being cut off.

In the middle of this, Mr. Collins arrives. Collins will inherit Mr. Bennet's property upon his death. He has just received a position as a clergyman from a powerful and opinionated sponsor, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, and she has told him to get married. With four unmarried cousins, Collins decides the Bennet daughters are his best bet. In this way, he can provide a home for them and their mother after he inherits. First being inspired by Jane, he redirects his attention to Elizabeth after perceiving Jane's interest in Bingley and quickly proposes. Elizabeth will have none of it, and Collins soon finds a more enthusiastic prospect in another local family.

The younger sisters are finding themselves more than entertained by the dashing officers in a local regiment. Through this connection, Elizabeth becomes acquainted with Wickham who confides in her that Mr. Darcy had treated Wickham with great unfairness after Mr. Darcy's father's death. That's just one more nail in the coffin for the case against Mr. Darcy.

But in the background, we get hints that something is shifting. Mr. Darcy goes from finding Elizabeth to be ordinary in appearance to commenting favorably about one small aspect of her face, her mouth. But put the two of them together, and civil words do not follow. They are like oil and water.

Jane and Elizabeth eventually make it to London where both hope that Jane will reconnect with Bingley. But no such luck.

Just when things seem to be headed in a most bleak direction, a terrible event occurs that shakes everyone like an enormous earthquake. In its aftermath, each character finds herself or himself needed to re-examine their position and perceptions of one another.

Will Jane and Bingley connect with one another again? Will Elizabeth find happiness? Will Mrs. Bennet marry her daughters off? You'll just have to read the book to find out. But unlike modern novelists, remember that Jane Austen wasn't against happy endings.

Enjoy a great read!