Title: Pride And Prejudice
Genre: Historical Romance
Author: Jane Austen
Publisher: Waxkeep Pub., Dec 2012 edition
Source: Amazon Kindle, purchase
Rating: 5
Sexy Rating: 0
Description from amazon.com:
Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, first published in 1819, follows the story of Elizabeth Bennet and is a beautiful look into early 19th century English culture. This edition includes an active table of contents.
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Can you believe this is my first reading of this the most famous Historical Romance ever written? Well it certainly deserves all the accolades bestowed. (See…that last sentence even sounded Austen-ish) I held off reading it for so long because..hey, I’ve seen the movie and the PBS shows multiple times, and I thought the written 19th Century language would be difficult to understand and frustrating to boot. I am happy to report that neither of those difficulties existed. Sure there are some language differences that made me scratch my head but never did they prove to be capable of befuddling me (more Austenish words). Also for those words totally beyond my vocabulary I had my trusty Kindle dictionary at hand to quickly look up the word.
Wickham, who is the villain, is certainly most charming and very likable. So why does Lizzy fall for Darcy? Darcy is arrogant and rude and Lizzy doesn’t like him (neither do we the readers). So, what in the end makes him husband material? It is simple, he is thoughtful and steadfast. He becomes the “Beta male” that women marry, not the “Alpha male” that they fantasize about and ultimately reject as being too much trouble to live with.
It is a most charming story of persons with pride (Lizzy) and those with prejudice (Darcy) and how they overcome those obstacles to find true love. It gives us Regency Romance junkies a close look at the society of the early 19th century, its morality and customs. This book can easily be read as a romance but it is also a social satire. I do recommend this Kindle edition as it was published without any content problems that I have heard other e-published editions experienced.
Great review, Dot! You summarised the appeal of this novel so well.
Thanks, Carol
Pride and Prejudice is my all time favorite book. It is a classic novel and one I will never grow tried of. Great review!
Thanks, Gayle
One of my all time fav read ever. I always have a hard time picking my fav Austen, but it comes down to this one and Persuasion. Your review makes me want to read it again. BTW I’m on the third Plum book. So funny, you totally get the credit for making me read outside my box on these books. I would never pick the first one up and now I have an easy book to read when I need a light book.
After finally reading this Austen I have promised myself to read the others also. So, you are on #3 Evanovich; Just you wait, the best is yet to come.
The Classics are classics for a reason. Persuasion is still my favourite Austen. Captain Wentworth’s letter to Anne…swoon. But, I have to say I appreciate the Bronte’s and Gaskell more for the depth of their work. That’s not to say I don’t love Austen, because I do, but for me the Bronte’s and Gaskell are more emotionally wrenching.
Hi Mo, once again I’ve relied on BBC to give me the stories. I have some catching up to do on the classics.
I second Bronte and Gaskell. One note on Wives and Daughters – there is no ending. It’s all very sad that she died before she finished the book but I was so very very pissed off when the moment I was waiting for never happened.
That would make me toss the book across the floor. But I will read the others.