Rating: 
Summary: Still a favorite
Review: This book was not on any of my school reading lists so I did not come across it until I was almost 30. I am now 50 and have probably read it 10 times and seen every version of it on film...twice. It is a becutiful story of women and human nature. I have never had a problem seeing the Bennetts as my contemporaries. Anyone who reads this book will immediately recognize these characters and their situations. Women may be more independent today, but there are still women who seek marriages simply to validate themselves or their lifestyles. Not only have I enjoyed this book, I have learned from it. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: Masterwork of this great author
Review: Blinded by beauty, Mr. Bennett married his lightheaded Mrs., and ever since has been skewering her with his wit--with beauty faded, she remains lightheaded and his target. Five daughters later, his estate is still slated to pass to a distant cousin, an obnoxious clergyman, because it can pass only to a man. Had there been a son, something could have been done, but as it is, the daughters' only hope of avoiding eventual poverty is marrying well, for themselves and for their mother. Our focus is on the second daughter, Elizabeth. More thoughtful than her sisters, she is her father's favorite. We are not the only ones to like Elizabeth, the prideful and immensely wealthy Mr. Darcy also finds himself falling for her. She rejects him because of the prejudice she has formed from his foster brother, the untrustworthy Mr. Wickham. The rest of the novel allows us to watch as these characters manoever to finally get into a position where they can accept each other. Absolutely stuffed with memorable characters and scenes. I rate it as her best, slightly better than Emma, but reasonable minds can differ about this one.
Rating:
Summary: A Must Read
Review: Pride and Prejudice centers around the Bennett family, mainly Elizabeth Bennett, the second eldest of five sisters. Throughout the novel, family relations, economical issues, humiliation of making a mistake, and falling in love are thoroughly described amongst all of the characters. Three of the five sisters marry in the book while encountering pride and prejudice of position or status. The eldest daughter of the Bennetts, Jane, falls in love and marries a man named Charles Bingley. She is the second of the three daughters that marry during the story because of a delay caused by Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy who had initially made Bingley think Jane does not love him because of her poor economical status and family relations. However, it is also Darcy who later convinces Bingley to finally marry Jane out of his own love for Janeas younger sister Elizabeth. After both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth overcome their pride and prejudice against each other, they are also married. Elizabeth is the third daughter to marry. The first daughter to marry is Lydia, who foolishly elopes with the untrustworthy George Wickham whose primary intention was not to marry her, but who eventually agrees to the marriage on terms agreed to by Darcy and Bingley. The novel describes the pride and prejudice that all of the characters manage to overcome in order to live contentedly.
Although the language used in Pride and Prejudice was difficult for a fourteen year-old, as I kept reading it became clearer and easier to understand the 19th century speech. The womenaes rights that Austen presented were beyond her time and I developed great respect for her. The message about overcoming pride and prejudice and marrying not for money but for love was very powerful and I felt that it was appropriate to be read for a humanities class because it was closely related to the topics we have been going over in class. Overall, I thought that Pride and Prejudice was a very well written and entertaining novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Not interesting at all, as a matter of fact...
Review: it's boring. Piece of advice for everybody who's forced to read this: buy CliffsNotes. This book is not worth wasting your time on. Believe me, I was open minded and wanted to like it but I could not read more than 10 pages. My mind started thinking of something else every third sentence. So again, save your time and sanity and buy the CliffsNotes version.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Good Book
Review: This book is about the Bennett family. Mr. and Mrs. Bennett have 5 daughters. Jane, the oldest daughter, is interested in Mr. Bingley.The 2nd oldest daughter, Elizabeth, has a suitor of her own, Mr. Darcy. She is not impressed with him especially with the fact he tried to break up Jane and Mr. Bingley. This is an extremely good book because it is well written and keeps you guessing about who will end up with who. I loved this book. It is a definite must read.
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Summary: Women of today... yesterday
Review: I picked up this book in an attempt to catch up on my classics. Due to the age of this piece, the old English writing took a bit to adjust. Once comfortable, I quickly learned this was a novel about the typical topics of class, gender roles and the tradition of marriage. In my opinion, this book is a classic because it broke the mold for its time. Women are viewed, as the lesser of the genders and men are dominant in their ways as well as their wealth. This book reflects how class matching is done to deem couples suitable for marriage. Couples comparable in class and beauty are matched up accordingly. Elizabeth Bennet is the character that now represents the women of today's society. She felt inner beauty was more important then physical beauty and did not believe voicing her opinion was disrespectful. Elizabeth then finds Mr. Darcy. He is a man who allows his pride prejudice him against Elizabeth. In today's society, Mr. Darcy might be described as a man who is pompous or arrogant rather then proud. Elizabeth soon learns Mr. Darcy's pride is a mask for a more giving heart. He too, learns her unique nature is more welcoming rather then unappealing, and finally proposes marriage. For anyone looking for a present day version of this book, I recommend Bridget Jones's Diary. Bridget = Elizabeth. I will warn, Bridget Jones's Diary is more liberal then this novel, but well worth the read. The humor is downright hilarious and Bridget's counterpart to Mr. Darcy in this novel is actually Mr. Darcy. Yes, the character portrays a very similar role and has the exact same name. If you decide to read the book, make sure you catch the movie. I found it quite funny that the same actor (Colin Firth) used to portray Mr. Darcy in the 1996 A&E version of Pride and Prejudice was the same one they used in Bridget Jones's Diary. Leads me to believe the author used Pride and Prejudice as a springboard for her novel.
Rating:
Summary: Pride & Prejudice: A Heroine's Tale
Review: Pros: A great heroine and romantic story.
Cons: The language can be a struggle in the beginning.
The Bottom Line: The heroine of the story, Elizabeth Bennet, is one of my top 10 favorites. The story: a young woman, Elizabeth Bennet, is a very realistic woman who doesn't believe that beauty or wealth should hinder her from society. While her sisters give their hearts out to people too quickly, Elizabeth takes her time in finding her ideal man, which can be seen as a prejudice and pride. Lydia, Kittie, and Mary (three of the five sisters) are hilarious, and they believe in love at first site of a navy sailor. But Jane and Lizzie (Elizabeth), the other two sisters, are more reserved with their hearts. Mr. Darcy also is prejudice and proud, especially when he tries to spoil Jane and Mr. Bingley's relationship. And the connected relationships all fit perfectly together, and Jane Austen shows a new ideal marriage when Mr. Bennet intends to marry off his daughters only if their mate was equal to them - meaning that the marriages should be equal. The language: it's a little difficult to read at first, and my only suggestion is that you should remember that it was written before our time. Most of the words are in the dictionary, but the grammar has definitely changed over the century. Jane Austen also enjoys excessively writing about one subject in the story, which can be difficult to sit through to read. But it still shows that Jane is a great author, especially during her time. My thoughts on the book besides the ones that I've already given is that the book is one of my favorite Austen books, because it has a strong heroine character that I can relate to. The family values are very modern, but yet it also gives a feminist-like style when the characters like Elizabeth are intelligent, and aren't too afraid to speak their mind. This book is a great classics book that I have read numerous times, and am still interested in reading in the future. cheers michelle
Rating:
Summary: A VERY ENTERTAINING AND WONDERFUL PIECE OF LITERATURE
Review: Jane Austen certainly seems to have done a great job earning her name in the literary world. I can only imagine how difficult it was for her to have been able to earn such a status in the very much male dominated era that she belonged to. This book illustrates two major themes of that period - the somewhat male dominated society, and the class structure in the early 19th century England.
At the beginning of the book Elizabeth Bennet the heroine of the novel seems doomed in every sense. She is both female, and does not have an inheritance that will earn her a respectable marriage. However, what she does possess are things that cannot be bought with money - she is by far the smartest woman in the book, and has an incredible sense of humor. It is in fact these two traits that the aristocratic Mr.Darcey finally finds irresistable, and leads to him proposing marriage not once, but twice. It is only at the very end of the book that Elizabeth gives in, and agrees to the marriage - much to the surprise of both her parents and her older sister. This marriage is significant in that it brakes steadfast barriers. It seems almost as though it is the beginning of the end for the English class structure.
Jane Austen is a brilliant writer and you will find her work easy to follow. I can assure you that you won't regret reading it - I haven't, and I have read it many, many times. It is almost addictive.
Rating:
Summary: For the extras alone...
Review: The story is timeless. Therefore I won't be reviewing the text as it were. But I felt it necessary to remark on this particular version of *Pride and Prejudice*. The Norton Critical Editions are generally favored among academic communities because they offer biographic information, notes on language, and other essays regarding the novel along with the text itself. In a way, it's a more acceptable version of cliffs notes. The extras offered in the Norton edition of *Pride and Prejudice* are some of the best that I've seen in the series. It gives an account of Austen from quite a few of her biographers, includes letters between the author and her family and friends, and also offers critical analysis of themes in the novel. And if that's not enough, it gives one better. An interview with Colin Firth, the man who brought Darcy to life in the BBC film adaptation, that was first published in the somewhat hard to find book on the making of the film. For those that have yet to read Austen's *Pride and Prejudice,* this is a wonderful version to start with. In case you find yourself struggling with the language it provides a definition or a more accessible word. The essays as well help to bring the characters to light. Plus, for those that have seen the film version and wish to read the book again(or for the first time)this is a must if for the Firth interview alone. This is a nice, solid book that just feels good in hand.
Rating:
Summary: The best Jane Austen novel...
Review: And that says a lot! Elizabeth Bennet is the second of five daughters in the Bennet household. She is a lively and good-humored young woman of high understanding and an open mind. However, she has one defect, she is too quick to judge. Especially so when Mr. Darcy comes to her neighborhood. Darcy appears to be of a reserved, haughty and proud disposition owing to his large fortune and noble birth. Lizzy adopts an immediate dislike of him. Mr. Wickham, whom Lizzy judges to be an amiable man, gives her further evidence of Darcy's unworthiness, and she is prepared to accept and believe it (She is prejudiced!). Darcy notices all the defects of her rather embarrassing family, low-connections and inferior wealth in comparison with his own (He is proud!). Just when you think it's a dead end, however, the barriers begin to crumble away as more and more of Darcy's real character is revealed. Through more dependable sources, she learns that he is in fact a good-hearted, charitable, just man, and the most surprising and unexpected revelation, that he has more than a strong regard for her. My favorite thing about this book is Austen's portrayal of society through her characters: the greedy and self-interested (Mr. Collins), the rich and snobbish (Lady Catherine de Bourgh), the small-minded and ridiculous (Mrs. Bennet and Lydia), the decietful and immoral (Mr. Wickham), and the kind-hearted and easily victimized (Bingley and Jane). The novel is one of the funniest I have ever read, and so entertaining. Mrs. Bennet seldom speaks of her 'nerves' or complains without making you laugh. It is not a slow read either, despite the popularity of the novel there are plenty of unexpected turns to keep you going. Beneath the entertaining quality of the novel there are lessons to be learned. Lizzy misjudges Darcy, Darcy misjudges Lizzy, she misjudges Wickam, Mr Bennet misjudges Mrs. Bennet when he married her, and Jane (Lizzy's older sister) misjudges Miss Bingley. It is perphaps eight months since the beginning of Lizzy's acquaintance with Darcy that she learns his true character, and every moment proves more and more how good a man he is. I liked Sense and Sensibility, but I love Pride and Prejudice. Lizzy and Darcy are positively the most adorable couple I have read.
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