Pride and Prejudice (Collector's Library) - Hardcover

9781904633013: Pride and Prejudice (Collector's Library)
View all copies of this ISBN edition:
 
 
"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife." Few novels have as passionate a following as Jane Austen's witty, perceptive tale of five sisters and their quest for marriage. When Elizabeth Bennett overhears the proud and arrogant Darcy insulting her, she develops a stubborn and blinding prejudice against him?a prejudice that may harm her family and her very chances for happiness. A sparkling satire with serious undertones that explores manners, motives, and society. The world's greatest works of literature are now available in these beautiful keepsake volumes. Bound in real cloth, and featuring gilt edges and ribbon markers, these beautifully produced books are a wonderful way to build a handsome library of classic literature. These are the essential novels that belong in every home. They'll transport readers to imaginary worlds and provide excitement, entertainment, and enlightenment for years to come. All of these novels feature attractive illustrations and have an unequalled period feel that will grace the library, the bedside table or bureau.

"synopsis" may belong to another edition of this title.

Review:
"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

Book Description:
Cambridge Literature is a series of literary texts edited for study by students aged 14-18 in English-speaking classrooms. It will include novels, poetry, short stories, essays, travel-writing and other non-fiction. The series will be extensive and open-ended, and will provide school students with a range of edited texts taken from a wide geographical spread. It will include writing in English from various genres and differing times. Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen is edited by Richard Bain, Vice Principal, Norham Community Technology College, North Shields.

"About this title" may belong to another edition of this title.

  • PublisherCollectors Library
  • Publication date2003
  • ISBN 10 1904633013
  • ISBN 13 9781904633013
  • BindingHardcover
  • Number of pages490
  • Rating

Other Popular Editions of the Same Title

9780141439518: Pride and Prejudice

Featured Edition

ISBN 10:  ISBN 13:  9780141439518
Publisher: Penguin Books, 2002
Softcover

9781676097709: Pride and Prejudice

Indepe..., 2019
Softcover

9789387779679: Pride & Prejudice

Finger..., 2023
Hardcover

9780486284736: Pride and Prejudice (Dover Thrift Editions: Classic Novels)

Dover ..., 1995
Softcover

9781909621657: Pride and Prejudice

Macmil..., 2016
Hardcover

Top Search Results from the AbeBooks Marketplace

Stock Image

Austen, Jane
Published by Collector's Library (2003)
ISBN 10: 1904633013 ISBN 13: 9781904633013
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
The Book Spot
(Sioux Falls, SD, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: New. Seller Inventory # Abebooks534673

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 64.00
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: FREE
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Austen, Jane
Published by Collectors Library (2003)
ISBN 10: 1904633013 ISBN 13: 9781904633013
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
BennettBooksLtd
(LOS ANGELES, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: New. New. In shrink wrap. Looks like an interesting title! 0.57. Seller Inventory # Q-1904633013

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 99.63
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.13
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Austen, Jane
Published by Collector's Library (2003)
ISBN 10: 1904633013 ISBN 13: 9781904633013
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Front Cover Books
(Denver, CO, U.S.A.)

Book Description Condition: new. Seller Inventory # FrontCover1904633013

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 99.50
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.30
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Austen, Jane
Published by Collectors Library (2003)
ISBN 10: 1904633013 ISBN 13: 9781904633013
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldBooks
(Austin, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New Copy. Customer Service Guaranteed. Seller Inventory # think1904633013

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 100.92
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.25
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Austen, Jane
Published by Collectors Library (2003)
ISBN 10: 1904633013 ISBN 13: 9781904633013
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
Wizard Books
(Long Beach, CA, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Seller Inventory # Wizard1904633013

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 102.67
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 3.50
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds
Stock Image

Austen, Jane
Published by Collectors Library (2003)
ISBN 10: 1904633013 ISBN 13: 9781904633013
New Hardcover Quantity: 1
Seller:
GoldenWavesOfBooks
(Fayetteville, TX, U.S.A.)

Book Description Hardcover. Condition: new. New. Fast Shipping and good customer service. Seller Inventory # Holz_New_1904633013

More information about this seller | Contact seller

Buy New
US$ 103.50
Convert currency

Add to Basket

Shipping: US$ 4.00
Within U.S.A.
Destination, rates & speeds