Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen
Jane Austen is one of those authors I'm aware I've never read. I've been tempted to try her books for a while, especially since there are so many good adaptations to watch afterwards. I was finally convinced by all the comparisons of life in lockdown to life in an Austen novel (a turn about the room anyone?)
All Mrs Bennett wants is for her five daughters to be married, especially since the modest family estate is to be entailed to a male cousin upon Mr Bennett's death, leaving the family destitute. Surely that's not too much to wish for...
Pride and Prejudice really surprised me. I was expecting quite a slow, stilted novel, but, after a moderately slow start, the story really took off and I almost couldn't bear to put it down. This was mainly due to my obsession with Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy - I finally understand what all the fuss is about. They are characters well-matched for each other, as Benedick and Beatrice (of Much Ado About Nothing), who I also can't resist, are. Despite the enemies-to-lovers plot, the way they react around each other, and the way they develop through the book, feels perfectly natural.
Elizabeth Bennett is the main character, and my awareness of our similarities may mean that I enjoyed this book more than others might. But there are plenty of interesting characters moving about in overlapping circles. I had no trouble imagining any of them, and, while some are clearly written to be amusing, they are all wonderfully lifelike.
The book is clearly of its time, but I can only recall one moment where I was briefly bothered by an offhand comment I disagreed with. I mostly ignored the various paratexts in my edition; there were only a handful of moments where I thought it was worth checking the notes. The only thing I did find was that I had occasionally to reread a sentence of dialogue to fully grasp its meaning, but overall I didn't find the writing too verbose.
I can't wait to watch the adaptations of this one. The BBC version (infamously starring Colin Firth) has already started on iPlayer. And of course I'll have to watch the Keira Knightley film version as well, to compare.
I bought Sense and Sensibility and Emma at the same time as I bought Pride and Prejudice (so it's a good thing I enjoyed it!), which means I still have those to look forward to.
All Mrs Bennett wants is for her five daughters to be married, especially since the modest family estate is to be entailed to a male cousin upon Mr Bennett's death, leaving the family destitute. Surely that's not too much to wish for...
Pride and Prejudice really surprised me. I was expecting quite a slow, stilted novel, but, after a moderately slow start, the story really took off and I almost couldn't bear to put it down. This was mainly due to my obsession with Elizabeth Bennett and Mr Darcy - I finally understand what all the fuss is about. They are characters well-matched for each other, as Benedick and Beatrice (of Much Ado About Nothing), who I also can't resist, are. Despite the enemies-to-lovers plot, the way they react around each other, and the way they develop through the book, feels perfectly natural.
Elizabeth Bennett is the main character, and my awareness of our similarities may mean that I enjoyed this book more than others might. But there are plenty of interesting characters moving about in overlapping circles. I had no trouble imagining any of them, and, while some are clearly written to be amusing, they are all wonderfully lifelike.
The book is clearly of its time, but I can only recall one moment where I was briefly bothered by an offhand comment I disagreed with. I mostly ignored the various paratexts in my edition; there were only a handful of moments where I thought it was worth checking the notes. The only thing I did find was that I had occasionally to reread a sentence of dialogue to fully grasp its meaning, but overall I didn't find the writing too verbose.
I can't wait to watch the adaptations of this one. The BBC version (infamously starring Colin Firth) has already started on iPlayer. And of course I'll have to watch the Keira Knightley film version as well, to compare.
I bought Sense and Sensibility and Emma at the same time as I bought Pride and Prejudice (so it's a good thing I enjoyed it!), which means I still have those to look forward to.
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