Pride and Prejudice
Two clever people misjudge each other, then fix it. Funnier than its reputation, and a template for rivals to lovers.
- What it is
- Comedy of manners with a slow-burn romance at its center
- Length
- About 120,000 words, 61 chapters
- Heat
- None. It is all in the talking.
- Content
- Class snobbery stated outright, a sister's elopement, money talk throughout
- Heads up
- This edition's 1894 preface spoils the plot. Read it last.
- Price
- Free on Project Gutenberg
What it is
Mr. Bingley, rich and single, rents the big house near the Bennets, a family with five daughters and an estate none of them can inherit. At the local ball his friend Mr. Darcy calls Elizabeth Bennet "tolerable", and she decides she knows exactly who he is. A charming officer named Wickham agrees with her. Darcy falls for her anyway, against his own judgment. His first proposal, in chapter 34, goes about as badly as a proposal can, and the letter he writes the next morning turns the book around.
What works
The talk. Elizabeth and Darcy spar at nearly every meeting, and each scene is a small duel. Austen lets the reader glimpse Darcy's feelings when Elizabeth cannot, so you watch her get him wrong in real time.
The comedy holds up. Mr. Bennet's deadpan, Mrs. Bennet's boasting and Mr. Collins, a pompous clergyman who proposes by quoting his patroness, are still funny two centuries on.
The turn is earned. Both of them judge from first impressions and gossip, and both have to admit it. Elizabeth's moment comes alone, rereading his letter.
"Till this moment, I never knew myself."Elizabeth, chapter XXXVI
What doesn't
Big turns arrive by letter. Darcy's letter and Mrs. Gardiner's later one carry the key facts in long paragraphs, which can feel slow next to a modern scene.
Money and class drive everything, and the rescue of a sister's reputation is paid for. Some readers will find the ending a little too neat a reward for wealth. Mr. Collins and Mrs. Bennet repeat themselves at length on purpose, and the last chapter wraps every fate in summary.
Who it's for
Read it if you like slow-burn romance carried by sharp dialogue, rivals who misread each other, and a narrator with a dry sense of humor.
Skip it if you want heat, a fast plot or modern dialogue. The sentences are long and formal.
Love a pair who get each other wrong?
Draconia, Book One by Vera Ashdown is a rivalry romance told from both sides. She saved his life. He thanked the wrong girl. Coming soon.