Customer Reviews

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice

5 star:		(54)
4 star:		(11)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Absolutely superior! It allows the reader to fully understand the snallest details of the novel that would otherwise be missed due to changes in the meaning of many words as well as the mannerisms and social structure of that time. If you have read Pride and Prejudice before and enjoyed it, you are in for a special treat. You will be amazed at how much more you will get from it by reading the annotations along with the novel. The layout is exceptional because the annotations are on the page opposite the corresponding page of the novel--no referring to the back of the book. The annotations flow with the novel. It is an exceptional work which I very highly recommend. A++++++++++

This is a good edition of Pride and Prejudice, but the annotations vary from very good to very annoying. It is obviously written for an American audience, since it explains words whose American meaning obviously deviate from standard English, but which do not really need explanation. Sometimes, it omits the meanings of a rare word. Often, I felt, the explanation of a word's meaning was not correct. It can also be very annoying - for example, the numerous times that the annotator needs to tell us that "town" meant "London", or how "afternoon" is calculated. This habit of repeating information occurs for other words / phrases, and seems to be a means of filling up the page. On the other hand, some of the explanations of customs are wonderful. The introduction is extremely good, and well worth reading before and after reading the text once again. I'm glad I bought the book, but I wish that the annotator had done a lot more editorial work on it.

For those of us who are Pride and Prejudice addicts, this is a perfect book. The format couldn't be better--each page of text has a facing page of notes. The notes, some with illustrations, cover every conceivable detail--archaic word usages,
carriages and horses, modes of dress, dances, courtesies and restrictions,
economic issues, even the difference between the militia and the regular army. I did glean for the first time, because of this book, that the Bennets lived at a higher standard of luxury than most of their neighbors, and were the prominent people, next to the Lucases, in their immediate neighborhood. The financial prospects of the daughters were dismal, but their contemporary living standard was quite good. The recent P & P film with Keira Knightley, godawful imo in many ways, showed them living practically alongside their farm animals. But that's a different review.
If you thought there was nothing else you could glean from P & P, you might be pleasantly surprised or enlightened by this book. Plus, for a true Janeite, another reason to re-read this book will never go amiss.

David Shapard clearly devoted huge amounts of time and energy to this heavily annotated edition, presenting a workmanlike job in defining less familiar terms (as well as some more familiar words) and customs from Austen's day. He also offers "Literary interpretations," most of which he admits are his personal "opinions." Some of them are rudimentary and even gratuitous. For example, his first note to vol. 3, ch. 18, relative to Darcy's telling Elizabeth that he admires her for "the liveliness of [her] mind" states that "Darcy has recognized the basic quality in Elizabeth's mind that is so opposed to his character. . . " (p. 693). Elizabeth makes this point back in 3:8 (p. 564); thus, 3:18 n. 1 is unnecessary, as it repeats what the heroine already said. Shapard might have even cross-referenced this.
But my real concern about this edition is the editor's failure to cite sources. This is true of both the Introduction and the notes, themselves. At times, this failure to acknowledge the work of others made me cringe. FYI: I am a tenured Professor of English (PhD in 18th-c. British Lit) and a U of CO President's Teaching Scholar; I do not speak on behalf of this institution in this review.
Here's a cringe-worthy example: I am looking at vol. 1, ch. 14, n. 30, referring to Austen's having Mr. Collins select Fordyce's Sermons to read aloud to the Bennet sisters--a reading that Lydia Bennet soon interrupts. Note 30 states that Austen's choice of "Fordyce may . . . be a subtle reference . . . to . . . The Rivals," a play by Sheridan. The editor then explains how Fordyce and Lydia Languish, a character in the play, connect to Austen's scene and the novel's Lydia Bennet. A non-academic reader will be duly impressed with Shapard's broad and deep knowledge of 18th-c. comedy.
This note, however, rang a bell for me. Frank W. Bradbrook presented this information in the Oxford World's Classics paperback edition of P&P (1990; many times reprinted and updated), which he co-edited with James Kinsley. Bradbrook cites in his endnotes his earlier commentary on this scene in Oxford University's scholarly journal Notes and Queries, n.s. vol 11, no. 7 (1964) and credits E.E. Phare with pointing out the relationship of "Lydia Languish, Lydia Bennet, and Fordyce's Sermons," in an article of that title published in the same journal in 1964, but in issue #5, pp.182-83. (I have provided here additional bibliographical information regarding issue & year.) Shapard cites none of the earlier scholars' work in his note.
Another concern about this edition is that the editor's "opinions" show general unfamiliarity with some of the most important Austen research of the past decade (such as Princeton's Claudia Johnson's, not even cited in the bibliography)--research that shows Austen to be a far more subtle and satirical writer than the gentle writer of benign courtship novels that she was previously (and for a long time) deemed to be. This edition, then, does not present a timely view of Austen: an Austen whose work is much richer than Shapard's notes reveal.
I remind students and teachers to be wary of the editor's cavalier practice of citation omission--in some cases, failing to credit hardworking scholars who earlier made original and insightful points about the novel, which Shapard uses. This is a regrettable, but important flaw in The Annotated Pride and Prejudice, particularly as it's advertised as edited by a PhD (History) who has "taught in many colleges," a phrase suggestive of scholarly authority and responsibility. Cambridge University Press's excellent 2006-scholarly edition of Pride and Prejudice, edited by Dr. Pat Rogers, DeBartolo Professor at the Univ of S FL, appropriately cross-references us to Bradbrook's note in the Oxford World's Classics paperback (1991, p. 349, n. to p.60) in the annotation for the scene in question, pp. 485-6. n.8. The Rogers edition is "The" scholarly edition of Pride and Prejudice.

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books but I've often wondered about many of the customs and other details that are not explained in the text. The annotations did not disappoint; everything that I wondered about was explained, from the types of carriages used by the characters to what it meant to be married by a special license. In addition, the editor's comments on the story were also very interesting and, in many cases, he pointed out subtleties that I had missed. The annotations definitely increased my enjoyment of the book. In some cases the annotations were a little repetitive and I felt that some were unnecessary, but this wasn't enough of an issue to impact my enjoyment or to lower my rating. I am glad that I read an edition without annotations first, however; otherwise the annotations might have been distracting.

Through his annotations, Mr. Shapard transported me to the Georgian and Regency England by providing useful background information about the society where Jane Austen lived. I particularly enjoyed references to and quotations from Jane Austen's minor works and letters as well as Jane Austen's favorites such as Cowper, Crabbe, Gilpin, etc. Moreover, the chronology is a great contribution. Before reading this book, I had read and thoroughly enjoyed pride and prejudice at least 20 times. The annotations definitely enhance such enjoyment and makes one appreciate Jane Austens' genius and wit even more.

Well, evidently it's the ONLY annotated P&P, and the discussion of the form and implications of the various vehicles, normal income levels and shifts in English meaning since 1813 are useful. That said, if you haven't read P&P, read another edition first as the Shapard gives away plot developments. You may also need a slightly thick skin as he soberly informs us that domestics are servants and that a farthing is a coin of little value. His style is more reminiscent of Mr. Collins than of Jane Austen, but there is useful material for all that.

This is a decent facing-pages edition, where annotations are on the right side of the page, and the main text of the novel on the left. Somewhere along the line, the annotator must have gotten it into his head that he had to fill each annotation page with notes, so that there was no blank space on the annotation page. While some of the annotations are useful, others are outright laughable; for example, the annotation for "teazing". We are told it means "teasing". Very helpful, I'm sure. In addition, another annotation tells us that "fine", means "elegant, refined". As a final example, we are told that the word "ideas" means "thoughts". Please...

When annotation is taken to the extent of glossing the obvious it has become annotation out of control. This is unquestionably annotation out of control, which then, in turn, marginalizes the annotations that are useful---such as that regarding Mr Bingley's blue coat which, we are told, informs us that he is a fashionable person. I give it two stars, because it is a readable edition, that is nicely laid out. However, the annotator is clearly in dire need of an editor!

The author's command of the life and times of Jane Austen is indeed noteworthy. Many annotated versions of literary works are content to clarify obscure or archaic vocabulary. This book not only explains word usage; it offers brief but remarkably detailed commentary on the society, manners, transportation, architecture, commerce, entertainment, politics, values, religion, and every other conceivable aspect of the background which Austen took for granted and without which the novel cannot be fully appreciated. Dr. Shapard's Introduction to the volume does a thorough and succinct job of placing the novel in the context of Jane Austen's own life and relating it to her other works. Both students and Austen aficionados should be very grateful for this first ever annotated version of Pride and Prejudice.

If you already love or have just begun to read Jane Austen and want to know more about the vocabulary, the dress, the food, the customs of her time, you will find David Shapard's "The Annotated Pride and Prejudice" of incomparable value. Did you know that "mornings" meant most of the day? Have you ever wondered where the phrase "pin-money" comes from? Page 683 provides the answer!
An excellent introduction and maps showing the sites mentioned contribute to an enhanced enjoyment and understanding of the novel for old and new readers alike.