Pride and Prejudice [Paperback]

Pride and Prejudice, by Jane Austen, follows society's elite through the trials and tribulations of love, pride, money, and marriage negotiations. This novel takes place in 19th century England and revolves around the slow development of love found between two characters. The first of these characters is Elizabeth Bennet, a clever, beautiful, and spirited young woman. Pride and Prejudice begins, when Mrs. Bennet asks Mr. Bennet to call on their new neighbor, Mr. Bingley. Mr. Bingley has an income of 5 thousand pounds a year and is not married, so Mrs. Bennet hopes to marry one of her 5 daughters to him. Jane, the eldest daughter, and Mr. Bingley begin to like each other during a ball. Elizabeth, the second oldest, meets Mr. Darcy at the same ball. Darcy initially does not care for Elizabeth, and refuses to even dance with her.
However, as Elizabeth grows to dislike Darcy, Darcy starts to become very fond of her. She and Darcy meet again when she stays with Mr. Bingley, because her sister, Jane, has taken ill at their house. Ms. Bingley, the sister of Mr. Bingley, herself hopes to wed Darcy, and seeks to make Elizabeth less appealing to Darcy. After Jane's recovery she and Elizabeth return home. There they welcomed to their home by their cousin Mr. Collins, who, because of the inheritance customs of the times (the Bennet girls had no brothers), was the heir to the Bennet family home. Together, Elizabeth and her family travel to town, where they met Mr. Wickham. Mr. Wickham notices Elizabeth, who he found charming, and describes to her a terrible deed he alleges Darcy had committed against him. Wickham claimed that Darcy owed him money and had denied him of a promised avocation. This new information causes Elizabeth to despise Darcy even more.
Soon Mr. Collins, the rather odd clergyman, proposes to Elizabeth. To her mother's dismay, she refuses him. Instead, her friend Charlotte Lucas marries Mr. Collins, and Elizabeth goes to visit them and their neighbor the great Lady Catherine De Bourgh. During her stay Elizabeth sees Darcy again, and he proposes. Elizabeth refuses, reciting all the terrible things he had done, including the mistreatment of Wickham. In response, Darcy writes Elizabeth explaining how Wickham had tried to elope with his sister because of her money. Elizabeth is forced to rethink, her opinions relating to Darcy and Wickham.
That summer Elizabeth traveled to Pemberly on holiday with her aunt and uncle, and while there her aunt and uncle wanted to see the beautiful Darcy estate. While visiting, Darcy showed up. Darcy and his sister heartily welcomed Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle, and invited them to dinner. Elizabeth began to grow fonder of Darcy. Dreadful news arrived during Elizabeth's stay at Pemberly. Her frivolous younger sister Lydia had run off with Wickham. Upon learning of the circumstances, Darcy sought out and found Wickham and Lydia, forcing them to marry. Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle returned to the Bennet home.
Bingley and Darcy together visited the Bennet household to call upon Jane and Elizbeth. Jane became engaged to Bingley, and when Darcy proposed to Elizabeth, her heart had changed, so she said yes. Elizabeth had fallen in love Darcy. They had both seen past their pride and past the prejudices that they had learned from society. Elizabeth and Darcy were happy in marriage, and remained forever grateful to Elisabeth's aunt and uncle for uniting them.

I would recommend the book Pride and Prejudice. It forces each of us to think about our roles in life. The novel also makes us think about our own pride and our own prejudices against others, and the need for us to learn more about people before we judge them. This book is also one of the greatest Romances of all time, bringing to life the love that a man and a woman held for each other from another era. It provides meaningful messages that all of us should learn. The characters are also interesting. This book is good for people who understand the use of language in the 19th century. Pride and Prejudice is a classic novel that I love, and believe everyone would enjoy.

So goes Elizabeth's passionate defence of her family against the horrid Lady Catherine near the end of the novel. Jane Austen's wonderful, funny, smart, and captivating. She is one of my favourite authors period. She writes in such a modest, perceptive way that you don't notice at first all the trickery that goes on with her narrators. It's beautiful and highly thought-out. She makes me feel stupid.

'Pride and Prejudice' is such a famous work that writing anything about it seems hard without repeating things already said. It's about Elizabeth Bennett's education, and it is entertaining in every way. You'll meet the loveable Mr. Bingley, Mr. Collins the lickspittle, Mrs. Bennet the match-maker, Mr. Bennet the bystander, and Mr. Darcy: the stuck-up owner of Pemberley with a heart of gold. It's one of those novels where all its characters face some kind of challenge or crisis. Jane Austen judges them by what they get from those crises. I love her for the way she makes us hate Darcy in the beginning, love Elizabeth in the beginning, and then makes us chuckle when we realize how foolish both of them were towards the end.

Definite recommendation for anyone who wants to read a good book!

This book is every bit as enjoyable as it was in the period it was written. It is enjoyable, the characters are engaging and feel realistic, and it deserves its long lasting reputation. Have fun!