Pride and Prejudice (Collector's Library)

Book Description
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?

Product Description
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?

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

In a remote Hertfordshire village, far off the good coach roads of George III's England, a country squire of no great means must marry off his five vivacious daughters. At the heart of this all-consuming enterprise are his headstrong second daughter Elizabeth Bennet and her aristocratic suitor Fitzwilliam Darcy—two lovers whose pride must be humbled and prejudice dissolved before the novel can come to its splendid conclusion.

A tour de force of wit and sparkling dialogue, Pride and Prejudice is also a sumptuously detailed picture of contemporary society, which, in its exploration of manner and motives, has a great deal to say about the society of today. Austen's best-loved novel is a memorable story about the power of reason, and above all about the strange dynamics of human relationships and emotions.

The handsome volumes in The Collectors Library present great works of world literature in a handy hardback format. Printed on high-quality paper and bound in real cloth, each complete and unabridged volume has a specially commissioned afterword, brief biography of the author and a further-reading list. This easily accessible series offers readers the perfect opportunity to discover, or rediscover, some of the world's most endearing literary works.

The volumes in The Collector's Library are sumptuously produced, enduring editions to own, to collect and to treasure.

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

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