Book Review: Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
I received this book for free from Purchased for review consideration, opinions expressed are 100% my own. This post contains affiliate links as indicated by an asterisk. Purchases from these links provides a small commission to me at no extra cost to you.
Pride and Prejudice by Jane AustenSetting: Europe > England
Pages: 253
Goodreads
Pride and Prejudice is one of my bucket list books, it seems to have been on my to-read list for years. I started the book several times but it never captivated my attention to finish it. I was determined to finish this book for my 19th century classic required for the 2013 Back to the Classics Reading Challenge, for the Book Blogger Recommendation Challenge and as my book set in England for the Around the World in 80 Books Reading Challenge.
Characters
Pride and Prejudice is not one which will pique your interest from the start. Ms. Austen spends a lot of time in character development, detailing the marriage and economic status and family history of each of the prominent families in the book. With the number of characters, this character development stage was tough for me to get through and I was thankful for the glossary of characters to reference.
Plot
The story revolves around Elizabeth Bennet and her sisters in their mother’s quest to find suitable marriages. Elizabeth meets Mr. Darcy, a wealthy man who makes an unflattering remark about her to his friend. Darcy grows more irritating to Elizabeth after each encounter and she voices her contempt for him. Darcy, on the other hand, is more stand-offish and subtle in his feelings for Elizabeth.
I enjoyed reading about Elizabeth and Darcy’s relationship and how it evolved. The quest to find out whether Elizabeth and Darcy would end up together is the driving force that helped me finish the book and the ending really made an impression on me. I also enjoyed reading about Elizabeth’s relationship with her older sister and confidante, Jane. However, I really didn’t care much for Mrs. Bennet, Elizabeth’s flighty younger sisters and many of the other minor characters or the sub-plots involving them.
Setting
While the book was set in England, I really didn’t get much of a sense of scenery, history or culture, unless obsession over social status is considered the “culture” of that time. From that perspective, I Capture the Castle* by Dodie Smith was better in portraying the beauty of the English landscape and the lifestyle for the time.
Favorite Quotes
“She was in no humour for conversation with anyone but himself; and to him she had hardly courage to speak.”
“Think only of the past as its remembrance gives you pleasure.”
The Bottom Line
This won’t be a book that I re-read and still prefer Austen’s Persuasion*, which is one of my all-time favorites, for its portrayal of issues that are still relevant to families today. However, Pride and Prejudice has helped to cultivate my interest in the classics and I look forward to reading some of Austen’s other works.
What did you think about Pride & Prejudice? Was it hard to get through or did you get lost in the period? What Austen novel should I read next?
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I think I’ve only ever got half way through Pride and Prejudice! I’ll be checking out Persuasion though. I’m determined to like at least one Jane Austen!
I know what you mean Chrissi, I almost didn’t make it through…again. I hope you like Persuasion, at least it’s one of her shorter novels. Good luck.
I read the book when I was in secondary (middle) school.
Hi! Stopping by from Mom Bloggers Club. Great blog!
Have a nice day!
Thanks so much for stopping by Veronica! I never had to read it in school so figured I would have to give it a try.
While I did really like Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility still remains my favorite. I think it’s because I actually saw the Ang Lee film first with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet and then it was the first Jane Austen novel I read. Nice review, Tanya!
Thanks for visiting me and following. I’m following you back. 🙂
Me again! I was going to subscribe via email, but it wouldn’t let me so I’m subscribing via a feed delivery service called Blogtrottr. 🙂
Oh no! It wouldn’t let you subscribe? thanks for letting me know, gonna have to figure that out! I appreciate your persistence and subscribing through Blogtrottr.
Funny you mention the film because many people recommend the films to help explain the book. I will have to watch it, I love movies. Thanks for the recommendation, have you read all of Austen’s novels? What is your favorite classic novel? I appreciate your visit and hope to hear from you again soon!!
I have read Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, and Persuasion. Have the others on my Classics Club list. My favorite classic novel is Little Women. I have read it so many times and it never gets old.
Pride and Prejudice is my all time favorite book. I read it at least once a year. I just love Jane Austen, but this one does it for me. (and I almost named my daughter Elizabeth for Elizabeth Bennett….but we used it as a middle name instead. Yeah, I’m a fan)
Glad you enjoyed it, even if it wasn’t your favorite of hers!
Hi Dose of Reality (sorry I don’t know your first name), I think I end up expecting too much from a book when everyone else raves about it. I usually then don’t end up liking the book so maybe that’s what happened here, case in point with Twilight and Hunger Games neither of which I could finish. While I didn’t hear as much about Persuasion, I genuinely loved it. Maybe I’ll make the rounds back to P&P one day but there are so many good books to read that I haven’t yet and so little time to read. What are you reading now? Thanks as always for stopping by and commenting, I appreciate the support!
Sorry for not leaving my name! I’m Lisa! I know what you mean about expectations. That always happens to me, too.
I just finished reading “Flight Behavior” by Barbara Kingsolver. I lover her.
Nice to “meet” you Lisa. We were just in the store abduction saw Flight Behavior. It looks good. I haven’t read any of Barbara Kingsolver’s books but Poisonwood Bible is on my to-read list for the Around the World in 80 books challenge. I look forward to reading it. Thanks for stopping by!
I love this book! But I definitely appreciated it more the second time around.
Awesome classic right here. It’s really timeless. 🙂
Other than P&P, what are your top 5 favorite classics to read (straight from the English teacher’s mouth)? I read a bunch of required classics in high school but I have forgotten most of the story and wouldn’t mind reading them as an adult.