Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

by Jane Austen (Author), Vivien Jones (Contributor, Editor)

Editorial Reviews

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

Next to the exhortation at the beginning of Moby-Dick, "Call me Ishmael," the first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice must be among the most quoted in literature. And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage--tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground.

Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree. --Alix Wilber

Product Description
Published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice announced the arrival of the comedy of manners, a welcome change from the stiff, moralistic novels of the past. In recounting the courtship of the witty, indpendent Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy--the handsome bachelor whose arrogant pride Elizabeth regards as a fatal flaw--Austen illuminates, with subtle humor, the prejudices of society as a whole.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Classics (January 1, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140434267
• ISBN-13: 978-0140434262
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.4 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8.8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars See all reviews (70 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #52,547 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

35 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfect for first time Austen Readers/A Must for Austen Fans, June 7, 2001

By	Margaret P Harvey (Charlottesville, Va United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I have always loved the style and social politics of the Regency period (the time of Jane Austen.) But when I read "Sense and Sensibility" in 7th grade I found the first few chapters lifeless, dull and hard to read. Two years later I was encouraged by a friend to give "Pride and Prejudice" a try. I did and have since become a complete Janeite. I am now able to peruse joyfully through "Sense and Sensibility" with a new understanding and appreciation of Jane Austen. The reason? "Pride and Prejudice" is fresh, witty and is a great introduction to Jane Austen's writing style without the formality of some of her other novels (unlike S&S and Persuasion Austen does not give us a 10 page history of each family and their fortune.) If you have never read Jane Austen or have read her other novels and found them boring, read Pride and Prejudice. The characters, and the situations Austen presents to them, are hysterical and reveal a lot about Regency society and morality. This book perfectly compliments a great writer like Jane Austen and is essential to every reader's library. The Penguin Edition of the book is stellar and I personally recommend it not only for the in-depth and indispensable footnotes, but also for the cover that is non-suggestive of any of the characters' appearances. In summary "Pride and Prejudice" is a great book for beginner Austen readers and seasoned fans, and Penguin Classics is a great edition for fully enjoying and understanding the book.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic Literature At Its Best, October 15, 2000

By	"santhibob" (No. Chelmsford, MA USA) - See all my reviews

My favorite book in all of English literature. Many people have criticized me. I am an English major, who is supposed to love Ulysses, but instead I love Jane Austen with a passion, and this is the best of her books. Austen is why I am an English major. Elizabeth Bennet is who I aspire to be one day-she is the heroine of my romantic dreams. And Darcy's gradual warming throughout the novel, especially his warming to Elizabeth, is charming and beautiful. The language is extremely engaging. And I beilieve Austen was a proto-feminist. Elizabeth Bennet is truly an independent female with strong opinions, at least for her day. And the older Bennet couple are just perfect foils of each other, which forced a couple of chuckles. There were also very fascinating characters, such as Bingley and sisters, and also the younger Bennet sisters, especially the one who elopes. Aaaah, I think I have read this book hundreds of times, and I still find beauty in every single passage in every single page. Yes, it may not be very deep by literary standards, but it is something that appeals to my heart more than to my brain. I allow myself the pleasure of rejoicing at the end, although I know every single word of the ending. But as in all Victorian novels, it leaves a lingering hope in my heart: when will my hero come along?? AAAh, one can hope. Well, I've exhausted this book, without giving up too much hope. Read this book, and read it again. It's worth it. And why don't you try Emma or Sense and Sensibility? Mansfield Park-eh, not that great, but truly the best of Austen lies in Pride and Prejudice, no matter how trite that may sound.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A classic, July 24, 2004

By	K. Huff (New York, NY) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Pride and Prejudice (Penguin Classics) (Paperback)

Pride and Prejudice is one of the most-beloved novels by Jane Austen. Words cannot do it justice, but I'll try anyway, since I love it so much. The story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy is absolutely timeless. From the opening line, which is my all-time favorite opening line- "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a large portion must be in want of a wife," we are drawn into this superb love affair, one which it is difficult to pull ourselves away from. I've read this book numerous times now and I always wonder what's going to happen.

Here Jane Austen uses a sufficient amount of wit to satirize the social graces and foibles of the middle and upper classes in Regency England. From the modest Bennet family, with its five daughters, to Caroline Bingley and Mrs. Hurst, to whom social class is everything, we are given a superb picture of life as Austen saw it.

There's also an undercurrent theme in which not everything is what it seems to be. Darcy is not the proud, cold gentleman he seems, nor is Elizabeth as feisty as she appears to others. And, while Elizabeth certainly understands the intents of others, she does not necessarily understand the workings of her own heart.