Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen

[aneeha15]

I just loved P&P, and it is one of my favourite books ever.

[BookKnut]

I love all six of Jane’s completed novels, and when it comes to surface polish P&P is the most scintillating read, but I’ve always rated Emma as her best novel, with Persuasion coming a close second. When reading Austen I always get the feeling of being in the presence of her genius, and it is this, more than anything else, that makes me return again and again to reread them. Her uncompleted stuff is also compulsory reading for anyone who has grasped why she’s such a great writer, and you might want to give her juvenilia a go too. And, okay, I admit it, I’ve also read all her collected letters, but then I don’t pretend I’m not a serious bookworm and have been all my life! Hence my user name "BookKnut"

[The green one]

P&P is a sort of landmark novel for Jane Austen because, apart from a decent plot laced healthily with humour, some really great characters, Mr Collins, Mr and Mrs, Bennet, Lady Catherine etc, it's a historical record of life and times in Regency era England. I've never regarded it as a love story (it doesn't hold a candle to Jane Eyre etc) but it's hugely entertaining and, because it was written in its time is realistic and not invented. Written with a quill and ink, some of it undoubtedly by candlelight, it's truly a great historical novel that allows the reader to fully use their imaginations.

[AiyaBoudica143]

Pride and Prejudice was the first Jane Austen novel I’d ever read. I was fourteen, and let's just say Mr. Darcy spoiled my romantic heart. No mere high-school boy could hold a candle. On a more serious note, however, I think that the larger-than-life characters are what make the story for me. The reader is plopped head-on into the life of the Bennets. It's not ideal, or even completely happy. Coming into her works over 200 years later, we sometimes miss the reality of the times. I think the characters are written as to be accessible to any young woman reading the book. Fear and uncertainty weren't strangers to those young women. Without a brother to inherit, the Bennet girls are in danger of essentially becoming homeless when their father dies. That really put Mrs. Bennet's matchmaking-mania in perspective for me. What mother wants her daughters to be homeless?
As far as Lydia’s lunacy goes, look at the facts. I may be projecting, but generally speaking, the youngest children are the spoiled the most. During the course of the novel, Lydia comes across as a spoiled, naïve young girl, who hasn’t been taught about the underlying cruelties of the world. Jane is the eldest and ‘most beautiful’ of the Bennet sisters, and is constantly reminded of it. Elizabeth, is the smartest, and is also her father’s favorite. This leaves Mary and Kitty. It’s my understanding, that these two haven’t got a lot to recommend themselves. Kitty compensates by going along with Lydia, and Mary compensates by trying to be accomplished. Mary failed in this endeavor, however, because she lacks wisdom and taste.
I could give my opinion on every character, but that would take too long. The Bennets were mentioned, however, so there you go. I loved this book, and will continue to love it, always.

[Fran]

@AiyaBoudica143
P & P is one of my all-time favourite books. As you correctly point out there were few options for the daughters of minor families especially where the father's property was entailed on the male line. Charlotte Lucas is an example of one option available - marry pragmatically & trade security for marital love.
I am glad to see you appreciate Mrs Bennett's position - too many readers, IMO, sneer at her as a silly and socially embarrassing character but once you understand the position she and her daughters are in, & their insecure position, it gives a whole new dimension to her character & behaviour - I tend to forgive her a lot as a consequence.

[The green one]

Pretty much on the mark Aiya. J.A touches on issues without drum-banging them. Her story is all the more realistic as it was written of the times as they were. Her characters, as you say are accesible and I love the more outrageous ones like Mr Collins and Lady Catherine. P & P has to be read remembering Jane Austen kne nothing of working class life and it never appeared in her books. A brief mention of poverty and slavery occurs in Mansfield Park but her other novels are all very middle-class. Although enjoyable in various degrees, none of them compare with Pride and Prejudice for me.

[srittyx3]

I remember it being a required text for high school. I thought it would be boring, since it was not modern. The text was difficult at first, but as the plot developed, I became more drawed in. Mr. Darcy was so unpredictable.

[Sarah48]

I am a huge Jane Austen fan and have read Pride and Prejudice numerous times.

I just fell in love with how people met back in her time and how wedding matches were found. Mr Darcy (like for many others) seems to be the ideal man. Yes, I know he seems pompous and arrogant when you first meet him but reading on you come to realise what an genuine character he really is.

All Jane Austen books have a main male character that the reader can undeniably love. For example, Mr Knightly in Emma or Captain Wentworth in Persuasion. I believe every single Jane Austen book should be read by an individual at some point in their lives. Her books have stood the test of time and affect our lives now just as much as then. You only have to see spin offs of her books being written and movies based on her writing.

Another classic book I would recommend is Lord of the Flies. I read this for school and becam so engrossed in it I read it twice. It follows a group of children stranded on a desert island trying to survive til their rescue. It shows how the group starts of as one but inevitably splits when power over the group is endeavoured.

[shockernot_mc]

P AND P holds such a special place in my heart since it was the first classic I remember reading without it being a requirement. Austen' s ability to put her characters in realistic (for the time period) is something I've always admired and appreciated. Plus, as so get older I find it is increasingly ironic how much I compare my family to the characters...which is slightly scary!

[KatsReviews]

First of the jane austen's I read. I enjoyed it and like the story and the romance of course. Though I feel like she forgets about her minor characters a bit, I believe kitty especially is skimmed over. I really encourage watching the BBC adaption with colin firth. It increased my love of pride and prejudice

[EmilySian]

A book I have re read numerous times. I devour anything Austen related. I can easily quote it now

[Ashley Hiddles]

Though I did enjoy P&P, I found it just a tad dull. The characters fell flat for me, and the book didn't quite meet the standards I had set for it, given that is was such a well loved classic. I have also read the more recent mash-up novel, Pride & Prejudice & Zombies. NEw spin on a classic favorite that's hilarious and, according to many of my friend, quite blasphemous to the original. Personally, I enjoy them both.

[Alderica]

I love Jane Austen! P&P was the first of her novels I ever read - my dad gave it me for Christmas when I was about ten - and I read it straight through from cover to cover. I've lost count of how many times I have read it since, but there is always something new to discover. As a kid, I just enjoyed the love story. Now I am older, I enjoy Austen's gentle brand of social commentary and wry humour. I think it might feel "flat" if you are accustomed to more drama, but that simply wasn't her style (I think the closest she ever got to drama was her parody of the Gothic novel in "Northanger Abbey") (and then there was that quote: "...the little bit (two inches wide) of ivory on which I work with so fine a brush, as produces little effect after much labour").
However, I agree that I would have liked to see some characters more rounded out - Charlotte Lucas, for one, and also Anne de Bourgh. I can understand why P&P has inspired so many sequels and spin-offs; there is so much Austen could have expanded on, but if she had, the novel would have become much too unwieldy. I also think it's a tribute to the way in which an author has managed to draw a character if they are so real that the reader is eager to know what happen next.

[The green one]

Might be worth noting the Jane Austen rarely goes into depth in describing either her characters or locations. This does give the reader great scope on the imagination level, although the adaptations have fixed us with mental pictures of most of them. One thing I do query about how people see P&P, in comparison to the rest of Jane Austen's works, is that it isn't primarily a happy-ending love story at all, much rather a happy ending escape from impending poverty (if the middle-class actually understood what that was). I saw Lizzie's battle for Jane winning Bingley as not losing a chance at security and a comfortable lifestyle rather than any form of passionate affair. Bingley never so much as mentioned any form of admiration before running off to the bright lights and there was more passion in Mr Collins than in Jane Bennet, and at least Charlotte Lucas was honest about her motives where he was concerned. As a social statement of the times, it's an excellent book, but much as I love the book, as a love story P&P takes second place to Cinderella. Sorry if that shatters any illusions. We each see it as we will. (-:

[lbuckman]

Seeing all these posts about this book remind me why this is one of my top books that I want to read!