December 22, 2010

Review : Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Title : Pride and Prejudice
Author : Jane Austen
Reading Dates : 13 Nov - 17 Nov 2010
Pride And Prejudice
From goodreads:
"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 witty comedy of manners--one of the most popular novels of all time--that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of eighteenth-century drawing-room intrigues. Renowned literary critic and historian George Saintsbury in 1894 declared it the "most perfect, the most characteristic, the most eminently quintessential of its author's works," and Eudora Welty in the twentieth century described it as "irresistible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be."

"The wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste."
--Virginia Woolf


Book Review of Pride and Prejudice.
Pride and Prejudice remains my favourite Jane Austen novel. This is the only book I’ve ever re-read 5 times in a row the first time I picked it up. And no matter how many times I’ve re-read it since, I still love it.

There are really just 2 main reasons for this. The first are the characters. I enjoy them all especially the sillier ones. I can never quite decide who is the more ridiculous and funny. The things they say and think are so absurd that it’s hard to dislike them even when they are behaving abominably. The story and characters just leave me with a warm feeling until the end.

The second is of course the main characters, Elizabeth and Darcy. It was rather lovely to read how they progressed from dislike to love. I like that Darcy isn’t attracted to Elizabeth because of her looks but because of her personality. He doesn’t see her as beautiful until after he is in love. And once in love, proofs more than once how important Elizabeth’s happiness is to him. Vice versa, I also like that Elizabeth only falls in love with him after he earns her respect and gratitude.

My conclusion : An absolute must-read.

Want to ...

Which versions of Pride and Prejudice below have you seen ?
Pride & PrejudicePride and Prejudice (Restored Edition)Pride and Prejudice

3 comments:

  1. Great review! I read this many years ago in school. I need to re-read soon!

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  2. I've seen all three movie versions and love them all, but I must confess I love the newest one with Keira Knightly and Matthew Macfadyen! ::sigh:: But Colin Firth is pretty awesome in the BBC version too!

    P&P is definitely a must read for any romance fan...it is a true delight!

    ReplyDelete
  3. My favorite is the BBC version simply because it did the book justice by staying so faithful to it.
    I've reread Pride and Predjudice many times too and it's my second favorite. Emma's my number one. Found you on Crazy for Books hop and am now following you.

    ReplyDelete

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