{"product_id":"pride-and-prejudice-9780553213102","title":"Pride and Prejudice","description":"\u003cb\u003eJane Austen's classic tale of the fiery relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy--a sharp portrait of love, social class, and wealth in Regency-era England\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cb\u003eNominated as one of America's best-loved novels by PBS's \u003ci\u003eThe Great American Read\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003ci\u003e\"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife.\"\u003c\/i\u003e \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eSo begins \u003ci\u003ePride and Prejudice, \u003c\/i\u003eJane Austen's witty comedy of manners--one of the most popular novels of all time--that features splendidly civilized sparring between the proud Mr. Darcy and the prejudiced Elizabeth Bennet as they play out their spirited courtship in a series of nineteenth-century drawing-room intrigues. \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003eA timeless tale with deeply resonant reflections on societal expectations and the complexities of love, \u003ci\u003ePride and Prejudice \u003c\/i\u003ehas garnered exceptional praise since its original publication in 1813.Renowned literary critic and historian George Saintsbury in 1894 declared it the \"most perfect, the most characteristic, the most eminently quintessential of its author's works,\" and Eudora Welty in the twentieth century described it as \"irresistible and as nearly flawless as any fiction could be.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAbout the Author\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eThough the domain of Jane Austen's novels was as circumscribed as her life, her caustic wit and keen observation made her the equal of the greatest novelists in any language. Born the seventh child of the rector of Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, she was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing sketches and satires of popular novels for her family's entertainment. As a clergyman's daughter from a well-connected family, she had an ample opportunity to study the habits of the middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. At twenty-one, she began a novel called \"The First Impressions\" an early version of \u003cb\u003ePride and Prejudice\u003c\/b\u003e. In 1801, on her father's retirement, the family moved to the fashionable resort of Bath. Two years later she sold the first version of \u003cb\u003eNorthanger Abby\u003c\/b\u003e to a London publisher, but the first of her novels to appear was \u003cb\u003eSense and Sensibility\u003c\/b\u003e, published at her own expense in 1811. It was followed by \u003cb\u003ePride and Prejudice \u003c\/b\u003e(1813), \u003cb\u003eMansfield Park \u003c\/b\u003e(1814), and \u003cb\u003eEmma \u003c\/b\u003e(1815). \u003cp\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e After her father died in 1805, the family first moved to Southampton then to Chawton Cottage in Hampshire. Despite this relative retirement, Jane Austen was still in touch with a wider world, mainly through her brothers; one had become a very rich country gentleman, another a London banker, and two were naval officers. Though her many novels were published anonymously, she had many early and devoted readers, among them the Prince Regent and Sir Walter Scott. In 1816, in declining health, Austen wrote \u003cb\u003ePersuasion \u003c\/b\u003eand revised \u003cb\u003eNorthanger Abby\u003c\/b\u003e, Her last work, \u003ci\u003eSandition\u003c\/i\u003e, was left unfinished at her death on July 18, 1817. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Austen's identity as an author was announced to the world posthumously by her brother Henry, who supervised the publication of \u003cb\u003eNorthanger Abby\u003c\/b\u003e and \u003cb\u003ePersuasion\u003c\/b\u003e in 1818.\u003cbr\u003e","brand":"Bantam Classics","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":50586156269842,"sku":"9780553213102","price":4.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0831\/4771\/8930\/files\/img_efeab662-862a-475b-9612-c3a8a8579b4d.jpg?v=1774449720","url":"https:\/\/surprise-castle.myshopify.com\/products\/pride-and-prejudice-9780553213102","provider":"Surprise Castle","version":"1.0","type":"link"}