Pride and Prejudice

by Jane Austen Narrated by Gwen Diaz

Overview

Notes From Your Bookseller

The quintessential romantic comedy from the queen of mannerly stories of love and unlove. It's the timeless tale of Bennett and Darcy, the love that was always and never meant to be.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice centres on the conflict between marrying for love and marrying for economic reasons. None of Mr. Bennet's five daughters can inherit his estate, so they are pressured into finding security in "good" marriages. Elizabeth Bennet, the main character, struggles with the societal pressures of marriage and resists Mr. Darcy's advances and proposals. Eventually, however, she finds that she does love him, and for that reason, she decides to marry him.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Robert Irvine’s edition of Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is a wonderfully illuminating text of an often misunderstood classic. Irvine’s introduction is subtle, shrewd, and penetrating, offering a convincing historical and cultural interpretation of Austen’s novel that will help readers to understand its full complexity.” — John Richetti, University of Pennsylvania

“Elizabeth and Darcy come to life—rich, historical life—in this brilliant Broadview edition. Thanks to a compelling introduction and capacious appendices, we can see how their private compromise enacts a public one: old and new wealth merge as the English appropriate their own elite ‘as an aesthetic phenomenon’—an appropriation that transforms national identity into a matter of ‘culture.’ Irvine’s Pride and Prejudice matches a carefully annotated text with a critical frame that synthesizes the seemingly disparate strands—political, socio-economic, feminist—of recent Austen criticism.” — Clifford Siskin, University of Glasgow

Clifford Siskin University of Glasgow

"Elizabeth and Darcy come to life—rich, historical life—in this brilliant Broadview edition. Thanks to a compelling introduction and capacious appendices, we can see how their private compromise enacts a public one: old and new wealth merge as the English appropriate their own elite 'as an aesthetic phenomenon'—an appropriation that transforms national identity into a matter of 'culture.' Irvine's Pride and Prejudice matches a carefully annotated text with a critical frame that synthesizes the seemingly disparate strands—political, socio-economic, feminist—of recent Austen criticism."

John Richetti University of Pennsylvania

"Robert Irvine's edition of Austen's Pride and Prejudice is a wonderfully illuminating text of an often misunderstood classic. Irvine's introduction is subtle, shrewd, and penetrating, offering a convincing historical and cultural interpretation of Austen's novel that will help readers to understand its full complexity."

Library Journal

01/01/2025

Arguably Austen's most popular novel today, the story of Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy has spun out endless adaptations, in print and on screen, and is the source of one of literature's most quoted lines: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." The very rich Mr. Darcy fails that supposition immediately. He is not searching for a wife and is in fact disdainful of most women and certainly of Elizabeth. This suits Elizabeth just fine, as the two are immediately at odds and remain so while their paths cross again and again. But underneath the simmering joint animosity is a growing attraction and slow path to, perhaps, mutual appreciation. Austen's wit and keen eye are on full display as she skewers the marriage market and writes about the perils women face as they try to navigate their futures in a world that offers few attractive options. The plot is brilliantly managed, as both Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy circle each other within the smaller and larger circles of the society in which they engage, colliding in interesting ways that reveal much about themselves and their world. VERDICT Quick-moving, clever, and interrogative, Austen's popular love story, edited by the late literary scholar Kinsley and with a new introduction by Christina Lupton (English, Univ. of Warwick), is far more than a quest for a happily-ever-after.

School Library Journal

04/12/2024

Gr 7 Up—Austen's novel details young woman Elizabeth Bennet's evolution as she discovers what it means to love and be loved and navigates her place in society. Set at the turn of the 19th century, the novel centers around the romance between Elizabeth and landed gentry Fitzwilliam Darcy, while exploring topics like family lineage, pride, and social class. This novel is deemed a classic for its themes of women's empowerment, expression, and the need to survive. It could be an entry point for educators and students to explore these still-relevant issues within the context of the book's historical time and compare them with the present. Elizabeth and Darcy's love story has become a longtime classic due to Austen's wit and understanding of the human condition. As Austen's most well-known work, it is relatable to young people and adults alike.VERDICT A Regency-era, satirical romance with themes that have stood the test of time. A staple for all teen collections.—Ashley Leffel & Darius Phelps

JUN/JUL 08 - AudioFile

Jane Austen's classic novel is expertly narrated by Josephine Bailey, whose eloquent presentation captures all the exquisite restraint and elegance of Austen's prose. Undaunted by a large cast that is almost constantly engaged in dialogue, Bailey has impeccable timing as she brings beloved scenes to life. Her insightful narration conveys all the depth and detail of Austen's believable characters, including pert, sometimes saucy Elizabeth; amiable Jane; the initially stiff Mr. Darcy; and the amicable Mr. Bingley. Less central characters (vulgar Mrs. Bennet, ungovernable Lydia, moralizing Mary) are equally well done. The spirited exchange between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine de Bourgh as dramatized by Bailey is beyond compare. This fine production makes a persuasive case that Austen is best enjoyed unabridged. J.C.G. Winner of AudioFile Earphones Award © AudioFile 2008, Portland, Maine

Product Details

BN ID:	2940159835574
Publisher:	Storyside IN
Publication date:	08/13/2021
Edition description:	Unabridged

Read an Excerpt

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 as 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 not you 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 might 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 on 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 twenty years at least."

"Ah! you do not know what I suffer."

"But I hope you will get over it, and live to see many young men of four thousand a year come into the neighbourhood."

"It will be no use to us, if twenty such should come since you will not visit them."

"Depend upon it, my dear, that when there are twenty, I will visit them all."

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.

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