200 Years of P&P

Cover designed by Jessica Hische for the
Barnes & Noble classics collection.

Today, I am happy to say, is the 200th anniversary of the publication of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. I love classic literature, but I'm a sucker for the works of Austen. Her writing does not contain the kind of passion and emotion that you would expect from the Bronte sisters, nor the dark and despairing themes popular in Dickens' work, but her stories contain a level of humour and intelligent wit that other writers just can't match.

Pride and Prejudice is undoubtedly my favourite of her novels, thanks to her heroine, the headstrong Elizabeth Bennet, and the hero, the serious and "proud" Mr. Darcy. While Austen's work can be hard for a modern reader to find very interesting, the conversations between these two are incredibly entertaining. Elizabeth is intelligent, witty and stubborn, and refuses to compromise her beliefs and values. Without her in the novel, it would indeed be a dry and boring read, with or without Mr. Darcy.

I love Austen's work because there is so much about her world that I love. The manners and language, all the intricacies of their social customs and their social hierarchy. It's fascinating. I'm also able to appreciate her work because I know more about her life than the average reader. I wrote an extensively researched paper on her for a history course in highschool. I can see how her family life impacted her writing and how her experiences shaped her views. While this is true of all writers, Jane Austen's experiences shaped her work in a different way because she only wrote about what she knew. She only wrote about things she had seen, heard or experienced, and even though that might make her work seem that much more unappealing, it actually adds to it. The wit and vivacity of Elizabeth Bennet is really Jane's. All of the clever remarks and witticisms throughout the book are straight from the authors heart.

Pride and Prejudice is a historic marvel, having remained a popular book choice for 200 years. It's a book that everyone should read once.