About this item
Pride and Prejudice is one of the most cherished love stories in English literature, delighting generations of readers with its high comedy, social observation, and compelling romance, and spawning an entire industry of spin-off books, film adaptations, and works of literary criticism. The pride of high-ranking Mr. Darcy, and the prejudice of middle-class Elizabeth Bennet, conduct an absorbing dance through the rigid social hierarchies of early 19th-century England, with the passion of the two unlikely lovers growing as their union seems ever more improbable. With a host of Bennet sisters playing out their own triumphs and disasters, and the unforgettable tragi-comedy of their parents' marriage demonstrating just how high the stakes can be, Jane Austen's second novel has a lasting effect on the mind of everyone who reads it.
About the Author
Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 at Steventon near Basingstoke, the seventh child of the rector of the parish. She lived with her family at Steventon until they moved to Bath when her father retired in 1801. After his death in 1805, she moved around with her mother; in 1809, they settled in Chawton, near Alton, Hampshire. Here she remained, except for a few visits to London, until in May 1817 she moved to Winchester to be near her doctor. There she died on July 18, 1817. As a girl Jane Austen wrote stories, including burlesques of popular romances. Her works were only published after much revision, four novels being published in her lifetime. These are Sense and Sensibility (1811) , Pride and Prejudice (1813) , Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma(1816) . Two other novels, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, were published posthumously in 1818 with a biographical notice by her brother, Henry Austen, the first formal announcement of her authorship. Persuasion was written in a race against failing health in 1815-16. She also left two earlier compositions, a short epistolary novel, Lady Susan, and an unfinished novel, The Watsons. At the time of her death, she was working on a new novel, Sanditon, a fragmentary draft of which survives.
