Pride and Prejudice: Jane Austen (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

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Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fringes of the English landed gentry. She was educated primarily by her father and older brothers as well as through her own reading. The steadfast support of her family was critical to her development as a professional writer. Her artistic apprenticeship lasted from her teenage years until she was about 35 years old. During this period, she experimented with various literary forms, including the epistolary novel which she tried then abandoned, and wrote and extensively revised three major novels and began a fourth. From 1811 until 1816, with the release of Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1815), she achieved success as a published writer. She wrote two additional novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1818, and began a third, which was eventually titled Sanditon, but died before completing it. Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story takes place in the fictional town of Meryton, England, in the late 18th century. The novel follows the life of Elizabeth Bennet, a witty and independent-minded young woman, as she navigates the social mores of her time and falls in love with Mr. Darcy, a wealthy and proud aristo No sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes ...'

Another of Austen's strengths is her prose style, which is witty, precise, and elegant. Her use of irony and satire adds depth and nuance to the novel, allowing her to critique the social norms and expectations of her time while still entertaining her readers. Rules of etiquette, class differences, the position of women, legal and economic realities, leisure activities, and more. I am also unqualified generally, in the grand scheme of things, because so many people have written so intelligently about the wonderfulness of this book and I have nothing better to add. The Penguin English Library - 100 editions of the best fiction in English, from the eighteenth century and the very first novels to the beginning of the First World War. Read more Details Indeed, Austen slowly reveals the dangers of false perception as she gradually peels away the mask of this stoic pillar of aristocracy, and underneath blossoms a misunderstood and sensitive soul. So the romance plot is born. Elizabeth eventually loses her prejudice and sees through Darcy’s false pride. Darcy loses his integrated construct of prejudice and ignores the pride of his relatives. As ever with Austen, the title of the work is suggestive of the main motifs; she’s never subtle as its all ways clear which way her razor sharp sarcasm is pointed.Vanity and pride are different things, though the words are often used synonymously. A person may be proud without being vain. Pride relates more to our opinion of ourselves, vanity to what we would have others think of us.’ So love conquers all. Austen was a strong advocate of social mobility, and often it’s based upon love in her works. But she only believes in real love. She’s not interested in fleeting moments of heat and sexual lust; she portrays true and lasting romantic attachments, relationships that are strong and real. For her, such things transcend class boundaries, wealth and intelligence. Love is love. It doesn’t matter who it is with as long as it is real; hence, Austen becomes a critique of society and its customs that prevent these relationships from being realised. She knows how stupid it is, and she loves to poke fun of her caricatures of the old stilted class of her era: the ones that resist her ideas. No sooner had he made it clear to himself and his friends that she had hardly a good feature in her face, than he began to find it was rendered uncommonly intelligent by the beautiful expression of her dark eyes ... ' A chaise is a type of carriage; it seats three people, all facing forward, and is enclosed (see illustration on p. 16). “Four” refers to the number of horses pulling it. A chaise was a popular vehicle for long-distance travel, so it would be a logical choice for someone coming from far away (though it also turns out to be the carriage this man owns and uses regularly). But a chaise was normally pulled by only two horses, which, while slower, was cheaper. The use of four horses indicates the visitor’s wealth, which is why Mrs. Bennet has bothered to mention it.

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 Abbyand Persuasionin 1818.So needless to say I went into this thinking I might hate it. Well, for the 999,987th time in my life (at least according to my wife’s records)...I was wrong!!! I absolutely loved this book and had a mammoth, raging heart-on for it from the opening scene at the breakfast table when Father Witty (Mr. Bennet) is giving sly sarcasm to Mrs. Mommie Put Upon. I literaphorically could not get enough of this story. I was instantly captivated by the characters and Elizabeth Bennet, the main protagonist, immediately became one of my all time favorite characters. Mr. Darcy joined that party as soon as he showed up in the narrative as I thought he was terrific as well. Darcy, on the other hand, must overcome his own pride and snobbery. His disdain for those who work a trade, for instance, is part of a larger depiction of those held in high esteem of class being crude and cruel and a predominant theme in the novel. Caroline, Mr. Collins and Lady Catherine are among those who operate like an extension of class hierarchy, allowing their ideas of social position to guide their thoughts and actions and making them feel immune to criticism. Darcy and Elizabeth lowering their guard, looking at the individual instead of at their social circle/status, and coming to a mutual understanding gives the novel a tender nature, one that asks for empathy and understanding in the world and warns against holding on to judgements too tightly. It shows how complex women's roles evolved during history and how the immense stupidity of male-made humanities restricted much freedom and human rights and integrated hilarious, epic monuments of facepalmgasms instead. Just irony and satire in their highest form can be used as a mirror to reflect the impressions of a not so far away past, and to be able to laugh instead of sigh about it. If it just was history everywhere. Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story takes place in the fictional town of Meryton, England, in the late 18th century. The novel follows the life of Elizabeth Bennet, a witty and independent-minded young woman, as she navigates the social mores of her time and falls in love with Mr. Darcy, a wealthy and proud aristocrat.

The theme of self-discovery works hand-in-hand with the theme of marriage, and the tension between economic interest and romantic feelings. Both pride and prejudice are obstacles not just to understanding others, but to knowing oneself. Elizabeth learns about herself from several other characters along the way: The perfection of this novel is amazing and until today it´s difficult to impossible to name another book that has the same character development, hidden social critique, and amazing characters in a classical setting dealing with the grievances of an epoch. So less action and so much suspense just created by the inner perspective of the main protagonists that it´s a pleasure to read and reread. I just can´t get behind how Austen could write like a goddess and what makes each scene, word, setting, and plot twist so smooth and easy-going, while diving so deep under the skin of this bizarre, ancient society. And how could he think she would ever agree to marry him after the way he convinced Bingley that Jane didn't love him?! I guess that many critics don´t have the time or interest to invest more effort than just reading it without a bit of researching history and the authors' biography to get the full pleasure of all the hidden easter eggs. Without that, it may really seem much more superficial and less well constructed than with the extra knowledge that enables one to enjoy it in full fan mode.

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This Penguin Classic is performed by Indira Varma, who has starred in Luther and Game of Thrones. This definitive recording includes an introduction by Vivien Jones. A wiki walk can be as refreshing to the mind as a walk through nature in this completely overrated real life outside books: Boy did I hate him at first. To get anywhere with this book one has to immerse oneself in the realities of life and marriage in the nineteenth century. At first all this talk of entailment and manners just left me cold. I liked the language to be sure. Austen's dialogue is delightful through out but dialogue alone (no matter how delicious) does not a great novel make.