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Review: Pride and Prejudice

Title: Pride and Prejudice
Author: Jane Austen
First published: 1813
My edition: Collector's Library, 2003


Cover: To be honest, I'm not really a fan of dust jackets. I know they are meant to project the book, but most of the time they just get in the way. They always slide a bit, which makes them crumple, which makes you concentrate on how to hold your book, instead of focusing on what is in the book. Futhermore, a dust jacket hides the beautiful linnen cover beneath it! Look at the beautiful red cover, with the title and author in gold and the embossed logo of the publisher! It is not really visible on the photo, but the red colour is a really perfect deep dark red.



Innerwork: The lines and pages have an agreeable length, the font that is used is pleasant and the book looks neat. Only the illustrations are not always placed with the same care: the distance between the bottom of the illustration and the text differs a lot. Furthermore, two illustrations do not have a caption, and are also not mentioned in the list of illustrations.

Compatibility with reading on the train: Very good! The book is light, you can hold it in one hand and also keep it open with one hand. You don't have to worry about loosing your bookmark, as there is a ribbon attached to the book.

Synopsis: Do I really need to give a synopsis? Who doesn't know this book? ;) Well, for the exceptions then:
This story is about the five Bennet sisters living in the regency era in England. An eligible bachelor, Mr. Bingley, comes to live in the neighbourhood and of course the mother of the five girls wants him to marry one of her daughters. As it turns out, he actually falls in love with the eldest one, Jane, but his very proud and reserved friend Mr. Darcy thinks the family is not suitable and that Jane is not really in love with Mr. Bingley, so he prevents them from getting engaged. Mr. Darcy himself, meanwhile, fell in love with the second daughter, Elizabeth. Elizabeth, by the way, has had a proposal of marriage from her father's cousin, Mr. Collins, who is to inherit Mr. Bennet's estate. She turns him down, as he is quite unagreeable, so he marries her best friend, Charlotte Lucas, who is already 27, almost a spinster, with hardly any prospects. When Elizabeth visits her friend Charlotte, the patroness of Mr. Collins turns out to be Mr. Darcy's aunt, and Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy meet again. He also proposes to Elizabeth, but she just learned that he prevented, among other things, the happiness of her sister Jane, and she declines him.
And this is just the beginning! For the few people who do not know the ending, I will not spoil it, but the rest of the story revolves around the question whether Mr. Bingley and Jane will marry, and whether Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth will marry. The story elements of the continuation include an elopement, a holiday to Derbyshire, some sacrifices and great dialogues.

My opinion: Well, I love this story. I think this was the third time I read the book and probably the time I enjoyed it most. A few weeks ago, I read an article from someone who found the plot simple and argued that Austen is mostly appreciated for her use of language. Yes, I also like Austen for her language, but I do not agree that the plot is simple. It is not just a matter of he loves her, she doesn't love him, he changes, she falls in love with him anyway. A lot of things happen! Quite some pieces of the puzzle have to fall in the right place before the story comes to an ending.
But what I love most about Jane Austen are the dialogues. One of my favourites is the conversation between Elizabeth and Lady Catherine near the end of the book. I always wish that I could give such smart answers to people! Elizabeth never lies, but dodges questions she doesn't want to answer very cunningly.

Favourite character: Mr. Bennet. He has the best lines in the book, I always have to laugh about him. Very ironic all the time. Just a few examples:
You mistake me, my dear. I have a high respect for your nerves. They are my old friends. I have heard you mention them with consideration these last twenty years at least.

An unhappy alternative is before you, Elizabeth. From this day you must be a stranger to one of your parents. Your mother will never see you again if you do not marry Mr. Collins, and I will never see you again if you do.


Want to know some bookstats about the characters in Pride and Prejudice? Read this!

Comments

  1. "compatibility with reading on the train" :P Daar had ik nou nog nooit aan gedacht!

    ReplyDelete

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