Pride and Prejudice (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)

By Jane Austen

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." So begins Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen's classic novel of manners and mores in early nineteenth century England. As the Bennets prepare their five grown daughters to enter into society, each shows personality traits that illuminate their future prospects as wives. Jane, the oldest, is the most demure and traditional, and Lydia, the youngest, the most headstrong and impulsive. Attention centers on haughty second-born Elizabeth, and her blossoming relationship with the dashing but aloof Fitzwilliam Darcy. Adversaries at first in the endless rounds of balls, parties, and social gatherings, they soon develop a grudging respect for one another that blossoms into romance when each comes to appreciate the tender feelings that course beneath the veneer of their propriety and reserve. First published in 1813, Pride and Prejudice is one of the most popular tales of romance in the English language and a cornerstone of Jane Austen's reputation as one of the greatest novelists of all time.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Barnes & Noble
• Release date: Apr 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781435160514

Jane Austen

Born in 1775, Jane Austen published four of her six novels anonymously. Her work was not widely read until the late nineteenth century, and her fame grew from then on. Known for her wit and sharp insight into social conventions, her novels about love, relationships, and society are more popular year after year. She has earned a place in history as one of the most cherished writers of English literature.

Reviews for Pride and Prejudice (Barnes & Noble Collectible Editions)

[sammylinn · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I LOVE this book!

[harrod_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Always a favorite

[thebandersnatch · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

What can I say? An absolute favorite from seventh grade.

[thebooknerd · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Who doesn't love this book? I mean, really. It's the quintessential love story that most of us base our romantic fantasies and reading preferences on. Even if you're the type to shy away from classic literature, you'll find this story accessible, relevant, and enjoyable.

[yoshikawa_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

No wonder this book is a classic; it's awesome!

[wolforourc · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Obviously the language is dated and heavy on narrative. Structurally, it's an excellent example of a 3-act play with multiple plot lines and surprising twists.

[kemilyh1988 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Forced myself to listen to it, because I kept giving up on reading after page 50. Love the BBC version with Colin Firth. The book, not so much. Definitely do not understand the Austen obsession.

[cathyincanada · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Oh gosh. This book is not for me. I made it to page 70 in a borrowed book, and returned it at that point rather than taking the person up on the offer to take it with me.
The wife calling her husband 'Mr. Darcy' during their personal conversations with each other was hard to overlook after the fifth time.
The underhanded and sneaky means of finding husbands for the females was annoying, but when it became more obvious that was the only goal in life for the female characters, I got truly discouraged and disappointed. Is this the 200 year old version of Twilight or 50 Shades of Grey?
Just like in a Harlequin novel, the rouge vagrant of a man that the heroine initially despises was to become her object of undying love (or so I think, from what I've heard of the book over the past decades). And just like a Harlequin novel, I could not care less about these characters near the middle of the book than before I met them.
I will try again in a few years in an attempt to see the greatness that others have seen. Just having a hard time right now thinking that I ever will enjoy it.

[mhanover10 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Very enjoyable as an audiobook.

[thelittlebookworm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Little BookwormElizabeth Bennett and Fitzwilliam Darcy meet and dislike each other, then through a series of meetings realize that first impressions do not always make the kindest.I haven't read Pride and Prejudice in a very long time so when the Everything Austen Challenge came along I decided to take advantage and do an all P&P list. Since it had been so long since I read it, it seemed only natural to start at the beginning. Oddly I found myself bored until Mr. Collins arrived (ironic). That's when the action started to pick up as much as it ever does in this book. The characters start moving locations and interacting in situations outside their normal places and then it starts to get good.I love how natural the relationship between Elizabeth and Darcy becomes and is, frankly, the archetype for this type of relationship. If this book was published now it would totally be considered chic lit. The meet cute, the fighting and misunderstanding, the declaration of love at the end, well, actually it has been made into chic lit through the Bridget Jones character. Anyway, P&P still holds up in my esteem and it was well worth re-reading.

[amyelizabeth_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I fell in love with this book immediately. It was my first Austen, and really my first introduction to this type of novel. How could I have waited so long?! Beautifully written and captivating, I couldn't put it down. Elizabeth's and Mr. Darcy's relationship is so true-to-life that anyone can relate to it. This book made me fall in love not only with the characters, but with the time period. I look forward to many future re-readings!

[amandabee_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This was my first Jane Austen reading, I always thought that I wouldn't like this style of novel, but one day I bought it and when I read it I fell in love! This book made me cry, laght and sigh. It's beautifully written and good from the start until the end. After I read it I bought lot's of other Austen books and books of the same style. It's my favorite book.

[luchiabril · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

uno de mis favoritos los personajes te llevan y no te dejan ir.el verdadero romance se basa en las acciones que le demuestran a lizzy el amor de darcy ... lleno de finisima satira y un analisis de las costumbres que solo la aguda pluma de eusten pudo llevar acabo...

[yukikon_5 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I thought it was difficult for me to read this novel because I assumed it was too formal. But, I loved it immediately. Both Elizabeth Bennet and Mr.Darcy are really human, which made me fall in love with the characters. I would love to read it again and I am sure that will give me another impression on this book. It will be fun.

[foomy_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

If you haven't watched the movie yet I strictly recommend you read this book first, because it is more entertaining than the movie! Genius observer, this auther Jane Austen!Obviously, it was not easy to marry for love AND for fortune. The mother of the five sisters uses all kinds of tricky words to convince them to marry someone rich. But the girls have their own philosophy - unusual for that time! Very vivid, humorous conversation.

[mkschoen · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Re-reading from what, high school English?As a 16-year-old I *hated* this book, and the Brontes, and my junior year British literature class. But wandering around the house with nothing to read I decided to try again, and I'm pleased to discover that either the book got better (not likely) or I've matured, and this is a delightful book, and I love Mr. Darcy. (But after a similar attempt with Wuthering Heights, I still want to punch Heathcliff in the face.)

[debnance_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is a book I have always wanted to read...a good read...not myfavorite...a good read nonetheless....

[edjane_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pride and Prejudice is one of my favorite books. I've read it first as a teenager. Recently, I decided to read it again. While no written work can be perfect for everyone, Pride and Prejudice certainly comes close. Not only it has been adapted for film many times, but it has inspired numerous other works such as sequels and spin-offs. It is great that it is still so widely read in today's world where instantaneous satisfaction must be gained. That newer generates can still appreciate it's slow pace cements in place in the classical ranks.As I re-read this book, I kept trying to determine what Jane Austen had done that makes this work so popular, so beloved. The plot is simple and mundane. Is it character development? Is it her ability to provide the reader with a social insight to Victorian age? The Romance factor? The witty remarks of Darcy and Elizabeth? I believe it's all these elements combined. Like an great tasting dish, the ingredients must be there, but in the right amount. This is the reason why I feel the many sequels I have read are disappointing. I have yet to find a modern writer that can match Ms Austen's ability. Maybe that's for the best. If it was that easy to imitate this book, it would quickly put it in obscurity.

[deusxmachina-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The absolute embodiment of the Romance novel. The style, though lovely and expressive in its own peculiar, is outdated for the genre today. The characters though are still the paragons of "boy meets girl" plots, imitated and copied millions of time - and usually worse than in the original.Karen Savage did a superb job in the Librivox reading, giving every character their very own quirks. Especially Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet were as hilarious as they were supposed to be.

[amaraki-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Returned to a classic as my library offered no attractive newer options and I was well rewarded by a reread as a mature--very--adult. 'The marriage game' to use Eugenides' phrase in its most sophisticated and subtle rendition. In its most essential lines a typical lady romance, but its sensibility to the social context of the times brings it to another level altogether, plus that something magical of an artist's(author's) unique expression. As I sometimes felt I was wading through the oblique and rather artificial for our time's dialogue, where people rarely spoke openly, I wondered how the book could still be so absorbing. But the editor I think hit it spot on saying that difference can be fascinating. So in that sense it was interesting as a historical novel, bringing alive the context of the times, and the same holds for the rather circumscribed setting and actors of the genteel English countryside. Again I wondered how these so different and 'irrelevant' characters could hold my interest whereas in the contemporary --peerless for some-- "Corrections" I ended up saying I just don't care about them. I think likely because the latter were so extremely self-absorbed, selfish in their mundane problems, whereas in the former there is balance and retrospection rather than absorption. And if I don't give it a fifth star, it's basically because of the light romantic theme and of the 'distant' to us setting, which are also the main points for giving it four stars.

[dypaloh · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

The Top Ten Things to know about the characters and character of Pride and Prejudice:•Jane Austen is observant in a way that could do you much credit or reveal you to be the most lamentable boor or ninny ever.•“Elizabeth Bennet is one of the greatest and most complex characters ever written.” That line’s lifted from the movie You’ve Got Mail. It’s got truth.•Mr. Bennet, Elizabeth’s father, is often sensible and well-humored, though not without defect even good humor cannot always compensate. One wonders if he has, in his parental supervisions and marital forbearance, support from something distilled.•Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth’s mother, isn’t sensible and her good humor deserts her often. Yet, despite her follies and the vexations afforded by her family, she is set aglow by even small promise of desired events to come. That is a thing not to be scoffed at.•Elizabeth Bennet pays firm notice of Mr. Darcy’s prejudice; her pride is to interpret it prejudicially.•Mr. Darcy’s pride is to have a stick up his hind side for the longest time. Elizabeth Bennet, in her musings, somehow refrains from expressing her identical sentiments with identical words.•Mr. Wickham, a roguish fellow, boldfaces the grievances Elizabeth Bennet has with Mr. Darcy. The comparison has consequences and is a source of much that’s fun.•Lady Catherine’s genius is to put pride and prejudice in service of her very great admiration of her own greatness at endeavors she’s never attempted and emotions she’s never felt, thus calling to mind a person quite prominent in present-day U.S. politics.•The last third or so of the book is not as good as what came before. But keep on—Elizabeth Bennet does and that should suffice.•You might not be enchanted by Elizabeth Bennet. But if you are not, justice should petition that Lady Catherine (or her toady, Mr. Collins) become an affliction to your days.And that’s the true gen. Count on it.

[catsalive · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My favourite.

[fmrox · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Title says it all.

[browner56 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Given its reputation as the quintessential 'chick lit' novel, I purposely avoided reading this classic for more than three decades. That was a huge mistake. Indeed, this book has everything that you can reasonably expect from a literary experience: an engaging story, memorable characters, and surprising insights into the human condition that transcend its 200-year old setting. On top of all that, there are parts of the novel that are very, very funny. Despite feeling like I already knew the story before I started reading—there have been countless adaptations of this work, such as Helen Fielding’s hysterical "Bridget Jones’s Diary"—I still found myself eager for the answers to the book’s main questions (e.g., Can Darcy overcome his pride and Elizabeth her prejudice (and vice versa) long enough to get out of their own way? What makes Collins such a sycophantic toady? What’s the deal with Lydia?). While it may take me another 30 years to get around to reading "Sense and Sensibility," "Emma," or any of Austen’s other works, next time the delay will not be because of my own prejudice.

[jayde1599_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Another "classic" that I had yet to read. I really enjoyed this one too. The romance between heroine, Elizabeth Bennett and cold, rich, prideful Fitzwilliam Darcy is one of the most recognized love stories out there. Elizabeth is smart, witty, and not afraid to speak her mind, especially to turn down proposals from suitors, Mr. Darcy and cousin Mr. Collins. Eager to have her five daughters married, Mrs. Bennett is among many of the country folk lining up to meet wealthy bachelor, Charles Bingley. At one of many balls, Mr. Bingley falls for eldest Bennett daughter, Jane. At the same ball, Mr. Darcy offends Elizabeth and she makes her feelings known. When Mr. Darcy convinces friend, Mr. Bingley to break off the courtship with Jane, it further intensifies Elizabeth's dislike of him. It takes scandalous sister Lydia, running away with Mr. Wickham to turn things around. I had avoided this book because I feared that it would be dreadfully boring. I was wrong. I was captivated from the beginning. The only part I found a bit dull was when Mr. Collins came a calling. The story picked back up for me when Elizabeth joined her aunt and uncle on a trip up north and I enjoyed it to the end.

[jemima79_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Pride and Prejudice the best known of Austen's novels details the antics of the Bennett sisters and their quest for love and security. Their mother is anxious to see them married to suitable partners and works tirelessly to this end. Their are some really humorous characters and scenes in this book as well as some passionate and tragic scenes. Austen delves into the many emotions that accompany human interactions in the 19th century.

[jonesli · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I must admit that I have avoided reading this great classic for many years. I am glad that I finally read it and I enjoyed it tremendously. It has everything romance, a happy ending, humor and a good background of the social customs of the 19th Century.The matriarch of the Bennett family, makes it her life's mission to see that all five of her daughters are "suitably" married to the "proper gentlemen". She is looking out for their future as well as her own. Elizabeth, the second oldest of the Bennett family, meets Mr. Darcy, dismisses him as an arrogant snob. You just know they are destined to fall in love.Now that I have taken the plunge, I will be reading more of Ms. Austen.

[dbjones_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy is perhaps the ultimate romantic creation, and unlike many of the men in romantic or other fiction is (like most men) a bit of a dick. While women's literary fancies switch between Highlanders, Vampires (sparkly and traditional), rugged cowboys and untamed natives, knights, dastardly lords and more, Mr Darcy has the staying power to have been lusted after since he was first published and will continue to be. The novel itself, Jane Austen's most famous work, is a very funny look at the dating habits of her time and like all her novels, the characters are all wonderfully realistic and are as relevant today as they were when the book was first published.

[bitemeeric_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

While this book explores many themes, such as gender rights, moral rights, education, and many more, I found myself focused on Darcy and Lizzy as well as Jane and Bingley. I love how each character is connected with other characters, which ultimately is the reason why the main characters are given the opportunity to meet constantly. It is insinuated that the reason why these lovers can not be together is because of thier economic situation-the men are rich and the women are poor. You'll find that the true reason is due to thier own, appropriately titled, Pride and Prejudice.

[anniehidalgo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Who doesn't like Pride and Prejudice? (Other than quite a few men, but I think Jane Austen is perhaps unfairly gender-segregated). A good book, although I think Sense and Sensibility may be her best. And the BBC miniseries of this one is also very good.