"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


From Library Journal
Austen is the hot property of the entertainment world with new feature film versions of Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility on the silver screen and Pride and Prejudice hitting the TV airwaves on PBS. Such high visibility will inevitably draw renewed interest in the original source materials. These new Modern Library editions offer quality hardcovers at affordable prices.Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Jane Lapotaire, known to American audiences from her many PBS appearances, is a perfect choice to read Jane Austen's comedy of manners. Her rich and varied intonations capture just the right blend of artifice and empathy to recreate not only the lively and playfully witty Elizabeth Bennett and the handsome, albeit conceited, Mr. Darcy, but also the entire gamut of Bennett family members, friends and foes. Amazingly, Lapotaire even manages to conjure memories of the screen's Mr. D', Lawrence Olivier. This is an exquisite audio abridgment of the classic English satire. L.(H.)B. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine

FROM OUR EDITORS

This timeless satire on English manners traces the fortunes and foibles of a family of marriageable young women and their suitors.

ANNOTATION

In early nineteenth-century England, a spirited young woman copes with the suit of a snobbish gentleman as well as the romantic entanglements of her four sisters.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

Many consider this rich social commentary to be Jane Austen's finest novel. It is certainly among her more famous ones. Austen sets her entertaining study of manners and misconceptions against the backdrop of a class-conscious society in 18th-century England.

Spirited, intelligent Elizabeth Bennet is alternately enchanted and affronted by Mr. Darcy. She is quick to suspend her usual, more rational judgment when it comes to him. She also is quick to believe the worst gossip about this haughty, opinionated man, who soon manages to alienate Elizabeth and her family. But is the condescending air that Mr. Darcy wars an indication of his real character? Or has Elizabeth's pride gotten in the way of her chance for true romance?

SYNOPSIS

Seven cassettes. Playing time 11 1/2 hours. Read by Juliet Stevenson.

FROM THE CRITICS

Library Journal

Austen is the hot property of the entertainment world with new feature film versions of Persuasion and Sense and Sensibility on the silver screen and Pride and Prejudice hitting the TV airwaves on PBS. Such high visibility will inevitably draw renewed interest in the original source materials. These new Modern Library editions offer quality hardcovers at affordable prices.

Booknews

Presents the 1813 first edition text of , accompanied by an interesting selection of background material including biographical portraits by Austin's family members and biographers, 17 letters written by Austin (eight new to this edition), and 18 critical pieces by 19th and 20th century commentators (six new to this edition). Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

AudioFile - Robin F. Whitten

A new version of Austen￯﾿ﾽs classic is part of renewed interest in classics on audio. David￯﾿ﾽs voice has a light, clear quality. She does well with the ladies￯﾿ﾽ voices but make little attempt to differentiate among them. In addition, David makes no change in tone when a gentleman speaks. Her rapid pace through conversational passages makes them hard to follow. The abridgment increases the speed of events which seem slightly at odds with the protracted courtesies and manners, but is generally successful. R.F.W. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

AudioFile - Leslie H. Blake

Jane Lapotaire, known to American audiences from her many PBS appearances, is a perfect choice to read Jane Austen￯﾿ﾽs comedy of manners. Her rich and varied intonations capture just the right blend of artifice and empathy to recreate not only the lively and playfully witty Elizabeth Bennett and the handsome, albeit conceited, Mr. Darcy, but also the entire gamut of Bennett family members, friends and foes. Amazingly, Lapotaire even manages to conjure memories of the screen￯﾿ﾽs Mr. D￯﾿ﾽ, Lawrence Olivier. This is an exquisite audio abridgment of the classic English satire. L.(H.)B. ￯﾿ﾽAudioFile, Portland, Maine

WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING