Pride and Prejudice is a romantic novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story charts the emotional development of the protagonist, Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial and the essential. The comedy of the writing lies in the depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money during the British Regency period. Mr. Bennet of the Longbourn estate has five daughters, but his property is entailed, meaning that none of the girls can inherit it. His wife has no fortune, so it is imperative that at least one of the girls marry well in order to support the others upon his death. Jane Austen's opening line, "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife", is a sentence filled with irony and playfulness. The novel revolves around the importance of marrying for love, not simply for money, despite the social pressures to make a good (i.e., wealthy) match. Pride and Prejudice have long fascinated readers, consistently appearing near the top of lists of "most-loved books" among both literary scholars and the general public. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature. For more than a century, amateur and professional dramatic adaptations, print continuations and sequels, and film and TV versions of Pride and Prejudice have reimagined the original novel's memorable characters and themes to reach mass audiences. The 2005 film, Pride & Prejudice, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen is the most recent Hollywood adaptation of the book.
Jane Austen
Jane Austen was an English novelist born in 1775 in Hampshire, England. She is best known for her novels which explore the lives and manners of the English gentry in the early 19th century. Austen's most notable works include "Pride and Prejudice," "Sense and Sensibility," and "Emma." Her writing style is characterized by wit, social commentary, and keen observation of human nature. Austen's works have had a lasting impact on the literary genre of the novel, particularly in the development of the comedy of manners. Her most famous work, "Pride and Prejudice," is considered a classic of English literature and continues to be widely read and studied today. Austen's contributions to literature include her insightful portrayal of characters and relationships, her exploration of the role of women in society, and her enduring appeal to readers of all ages.
Other related
The History of England by a Partial, Prejudiced and Ignorant Historian