Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen

Jan 1853 · RD Bentley

Ratings and reviews

I read this book because it is often described as a classic. I found some parts difficult to read because the way things were said then is so different to today. I had to read some paragraphs 2 or 3 times to understand them. It was worth the perseverance. The story gave an interesting insight as to how life was, in the middle and upper classes at that time. Especially as it was written by a contemporary.

Technical Aspects of this particular copy of P&P: 1. There are some very dated choice of words that need to be explained to better understand scenes, yet are not defined with any footnotes. For example, there was "a chaise and four" which meant an enclosed carriage drawn by four horses. Another example is when ANY card game is played, the author only says the game name and nothing else (except for the lottery ticket game in the firat volume). My Barnes&Noble physical copy has footnotes, and I am forever indebted to them. 2. This particular copy lists the chapters in two volumes; so rather than 61 chapters, it separates the story in 2 volumes, restarting the chapter count as: V.1 Ch.1-33, then V.2 Ch.1-28. Just saying that in case it matters. Now for my thoughts on the book. The book was interesting, even though I am a man. It was NOT just about girls squealing about weddings and balls. As for the difficult reading level, I found reading "The Scarlett Pimpernel" helped prepare me.

As with the book, Emma, I hated this book. Self absorbed females who spend the entire book worried about finding a man to marry. I have read most of Austen's books and they are all the same story with different names and equally boring stories. They have no sense of themselves or what to do if they can't find a man. I know times were different then but there were plenty of self sufficient women around who did not HAVE to find a husband. Am sure people are fainting after reading that because these are supposed to be the best books ever written.