|
|
List Price: $16.95 Amazon.com's Price: $11.53 You Save: $5.42 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
This item ships for FREE with Super Saver Shipping.
Binding: PaperbackDewey Decimal Number: 823.7 EAN: 9780486417752 Format: Large Print ISBN: 0486417751 Label: Dover Publications Manufacturer: Dover Publications Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 408 Publication Date: May 14, 2001 Publisher: Dover Publications Studio: Dover Publications Editorial Review: Amazon.com Review: "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." Next to the exhortation at the beginning of Moby-Dick, "Call me Ishmael," the first sentence of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice must be among the most quoted in literature. And certainly what Melville did for whaling Austen does for marriage--tracing the intricacies (not to mention the economics) of 19th-century British mating rituals with a sure hand and an unblinking eye. As usual, Austen trains her sights on a country village and a few families--in this case, the Bennets, the Philips, and the Lucases. Into their midst comes Mr. Bingley, a single man of good fortune, and his friend, Mr. Darcy, who is even richer. Mrs. Bennet, who married above her station, sees their arrival as an opportunity to marry off at least one of her five daughters. Bingley is complaisant and easily charmed by the eldest Bennet girl, Jane; Darcy, however, is harder to please. Put off by Mrs. Bennet's vulgarity and the untoward behavior of the three younger daughters, he is unable to see the true worth of the older girls, Jane and Elizabeth. His excessive pride offends Lizzy, who is more than willing to believe the worst that other people have to say of him; when George Wickham, a soldier stationed in the village, does indeed have a discreditable tale to tell, his words fall on fertile ground. Having set up the central misunderstanding of the novel, Austen then brings in her cast of fascinating secondary characters: Mr. Collins, the sycophantic clergyman who aspires to Lizzy's hand but settles for her best friend, Charlotte, instead; Lady Catherine de Bourgh, Mr. Darcy's insufferably snobbish aunt; and the Gardiners, Jane and Elizabeth's low-born but noble-hearted aunt and uncle. Some of Austen's best comedy comes from mixing and matching these representatives of different classes and economic strata, demonstrating the hypocrisy at the heart of so many social interactions. And though the novel is rife with romantic misunderstandings, rejected proposals, disastrous elopements, and a requisite happy ending for those who deserve one, Austen never gets so carried away with the romance that she loses sight of the hard economic realities of 19th-century matrimonial maneuvering. Good marriages for penniless girls such as the Bennets are hard to come by, and even Lizzy, who comes to sincerely value Mr. Darcy, remarks when asked when she first began to love him: "It has been coming on so gradually, that I hardly know when it began. But I believe I must date it from my first seeing his beautiful grounds at Pemberley." She may be joking, but there's more than a little truth to her sentiment, as well. Jane Austen considered Elizabeth Bennet "as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print". Readers of Pride and Prejudice would be hard-pressed to disagree. --Alix Wilber Product Description: A headstrong young woman and her aristocratic suitor must overcome their respective impediments to a happy ending — his pride must be humbled and her prejudice dissolved. The consummate artistry of the author transforms this effervescent tale of a rural romance into a witty, shrewdly observed satire of English country life. Book Description: Cambridge Literature is a series of literary texts edited for study by students aged 14-18 in English-speaking classrooms. It will include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, travel-writing and other non-fiction. The series will be extensive and open-ended, and will provide school students with a range of edited texts taken from a wide geographical spread. It will include writing in English from various genres and differing times. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is edited by Richard Bain, Vice Principal, Norham Community Technology College, North Shields. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - ClassicThere isn't much else to say about this book that hasn't been said. One of the best novels ever written, for its humor, plot, and excellent insight into the quirky-but-real relationships of everyday people. Truly a classic. Rating: - Justifiably a ClassicThis novel begins with one of the most recognizable lines in literary history: "It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." With that begins, perhaps, the most copied plot-line in human history. Sisters Elizabeth and Jane Bennett are of a marrying age. When a handsome and wealthy young man comes to stay in their neighborhood, the Bennetts waste little time making his acquaintance. It turns out the handsome newcomer, Charles ... Read More Rating:  - Awesome of courseNever fear this is not a novelization. It's the classic story with a revamped cover. If you are interested in getting the book this is not a bad choice Rating:  - 18th Century Chick LitI am so disappointed. Being a fan of classic literature I was looking forward to reading Pride & Prejudice. But what I got was moderately-well written chick lit. Think of Pride and Prejudice as the Bridgit Jones of the 18th Century. The story-line is predictable - you know how the whole novel is going to play out after the first couple of pages. The only thing that kept me going was the hope that there would be some little twist. Maybe Jane would end up with Darcy, or something a little ... Read More Rating: - A Wonderful ReadThere are few things more comforting in this world that sitting down with "Pride and Prejudice" and a steaming mug of tea. My mother first introduced me to the world of Jane Austen when I was quite young and I will say that this novel is one of the most battered books on my shelf due to how many times I have read it - at least once per annum. For years, audiences have been charmed by the likes of Elizabeth Bennet, the story's sharp-witted heroine, and admired the well-born Mr. Darcy, her verbal sparring ... Read More |
