8 Books in 1, Jane Austen's Complete Novels: Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Lady Susan, and Love and Friendship [Hardcover]

Jane Austen (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 1, 2006

Jane Austen's complete novels, collected together in one uniquely comprehensive volume. Comprises the complete text of: "Sense and Sensibility", "Pride and Prejudice", "Mansfield Park", "Emma", "Northanger Abbey", "Persuasion", "Lady Susan", and "Love and Friendship". This is the only single-volume edition of Jane Austen's novels to contain not only the wickedly humorous "Lady Susan", but also the irrepressibly exuberant early work "Love and Friendship". This collection allows readers to explore the development of one of the English language's greatest writers, following her development from the farcical comedy of "Love and Friendship" and "Northanger Abbey", via her most popular work, "Pride and Prejudice", to the masterpiece "Emma", and the considered romance of "Persuasion". A unique collection of the finest and most perceptive love stories ever written.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

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From the Back Cover

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (begun 1796, published 1813)
Chapter 1

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

However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.

"My dear Mr. Bennet," said his lady to him one day, "have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?"

Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.

"But it is," returned she; "for Mrs. Long has just been here, and she told me all about it."

Mr. Bennet made no answer.

"Do you not want to know who has taken it?" cried his wife impatiently.

"You want to tell me, and I have no objection to hearing it."

This was invitation enough.

"Why, my dear, you must know, Mrs. Long says that Netherfield is taken by a young man of large fortune from the north of England; that he came down on Monday in a chaise and four to see the place, and was so much delighted with it, that he agreed with Mr. Morris immediately; that he is to take possession before Michaelmas, and some of his servants are to be in the house by the end of next week."

"What is his name?"

"Bingley."

"Is he married or single?"

"Oh! Single, my dear, to be sure! A single man of large fortune; four or five thousand a year. What a fine thing for our girls!"

"How so? How can it affect them?"

"My dear Mr. Bennet," replied his wife, "how can you be so tiresome! You must know that I am thinking of his marrying one of them."

"Is that his design in settling here?"

"Design! Nonsense, how can you talk so! But it is very likely that he may fall in love with one of them, and therefore you must visit him as soon as he comes."

"I see no occasion for that. You and the girls may go, or you may send them by themselves, which perhaps will be still better, for as you are as handsome as any of them, Mr. Bingley may like you the best of the party."

"My dear, you flatter me. I certainly have had my share of beauty, but I do not pretend to be anything extraordinary now. When a woman has five grown-up daughters, she ought to give over thinking of her own beauty."

"In such cases, a woman has not often much beauty to think of."

"But, my dear, you must indeed go and see Mr. Bingley when he comes into the neighbourhood."

"It is more than I engage for, I assure you."

"But consider your daughters. Only think what an establishment it would be for one of them. Sir William and Lady Lucas are determined to go, merely on that account, for in general, you know, they visit no newcomers. Indeed you must go, for it will be impossible for us to visit him if you do not."

"You are over-scrupulous, surely. I dare say Mr. Bingley will be very glad to see you; and I will send a few lines by you to assure him of my hearty consent to his marrying whichever he chooses of the girls; though I must throw in a good word for my little Lizzy."

"I desire you will do no such thing. Lizzy is not a bit better than the others; and I am sure she is not half so handsome as Jane, nor half so good-humoured as Lydia. But you are always giving her the preference."

"They have none of them much to recommend them," replied he; "they are all silly and ignorant like other girls; but Lizzy has something more of quickness than her sisters."

"Mr. Bennet, how can you abuse your own children in such a way? You take delight in vexing me. You have no compassion for my poor nerves."

"You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these last twenty years at least."

Mr. Bennet was so odd a mixture of quick parts, sarcastic humour, reserve, and caprice, that the experience of three-and-twenty years had been insufficient to make his wife understand his character. Her mind was less difficult to develop. She was a woman of mean understanding, little information, and uncertain temper. When she was discontented, she fancied herself nervous. The business of her life was to get her daughters married; its solace was visiting and news. --This text refers to the Paperback edition.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 808 pages
• Publisher: Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax Ltd (March 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 095484016X
• ISBN-13: 978-0954840167
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.5 x 2.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.8 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #923,885 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Though the domain of Jane Austen's novels was as circumscribed as her life, her caustic wit and keen observation made her the equal of the greatest novelists in any language. Born the seventh child of the rector of Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, she was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing sketches and satires of popular novels for her family's entertainment. As a clergyman's daughter from a well-connected family, she had an ample opportunity to study the habits of the middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. At twenty-one, she began a novel called "The First Impressions" an early version of Pride and Prejudice. In 1801, on her father's retirement, the family moved to the fashionable resort of Bath. Two years later she sold the first version of Northanger Abby to a London publisher, but the first of her novels to appear was Sense and Sensibility, published at her own expense in 1811. It was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815). After her father died in 1805, the family first moved to Southampton then to Chawton Cottage in Hampshire. Despite this relative retirement, Jane Austen was still in touch with a wider world, mainly through her brothers; one had become a very rich country gentleman, another a London banker, and two were naval officers. Though her many novels were published anonymously, she had many early and devoted readers, among them the Prince Regent and Sir Walter Scott. In 1816, in declining health, Austen wrote Persuasion and revised Northanger Abby, Her last work, Sandition, was left unfinished at her death on July 18, 1817. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Austen's identity as an author was announced to the world posthumously by her brother Henry, who supervised the publication of Northanger Abby and Persuasion in 1818.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 54 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The best-value edition of Jane Austen's complete novels, February 16, 2005

By 

arthur_weasley (Hogwarts) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 8 Books in 1: Jane Austen's Complete Novels (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Lady Susan, and Love and Friendship) (Paperback)

Definitely worth buying. You get all of Jane Austen's novels, including "Lady Susan", and also thrown in is "Love and Friendship" (a story that Jane Austen wrote when she was 15).

The book itself is a large format - bigger than a normal paperback, but a little smaller than letter size - so there aren't too many pages, which means the book isn't too heavy. The paper quality is good, and the binding is very solid - I've been bending the cover back so I can hold it in one hand, and it's survived my mistreatment fine. :)

About the novels themselves there's not much that I need to say - if you don't know them already then there's plenty of places you can find out about them! If you've seen one of the Jane Austen movies, or the TV series of Pride and Prejudice, and you want to read the books, then this is a great place to start.

I'd recommend beginning with Pride and Prejudice and then reading Emma and then maybe Northanger Abbey or Persuasion - although Sense and Sensibility was the first published (and so it's at the front of this book), I don't think you should read it first, it's less approachable than some of the others. Emma is the real masterpiece, in my opinion.

26 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I thought the layout was fine - not a problem. A good buy!, April 7, 2005

By 

GreenvilleTX (Greenville, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 8 Books in 1: Jane Austen's Complete Novels (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Lady Susan, and Love and Friendship) (Paperback)

Re the review below - OK, so the layout's in two columns, but then so is the Complete Works of Shakespeare that I own, and the same for Chaucer. It's normal for 'complete works' editions like these to be laid out in more than one column - otherwise the book would be much too thick!

The print size is slightly smaller than for a standard book - it's about the same as for a newspaper, so if you're OK reading a newspaper, then you should be fine with this book.

A really good value edition, and well worth buying.

14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars not great, March 8, 2007

By 

G. - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: 8 Books in 1: Jane Austen's Complete Novels (Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, Lady Susan, and Love and Friendship) (Paperback)

I ordered this book online thinking it would be cool to have all books in one book so to speak. I was disappointed, each page is split into 2 in the middle, it was not fun reading, and i actually returned it.