Review of Pride & Predudice by Jane Austen

When Elizabeth Bennet meets Mr. Darcy for the first time, she's repulsed. He's arrogant and prideful. Mr. Darcy is at first repulsed by Elizabeth but soon develops an interest.

As one of the greatest love stories ever told unfolds, Elizabeth's prejudice and Darcy's pride may keep them apart forever, but if they can overcome their difficulties, Elizabeth may be able to find the love match she's always dreamed of.

This story is absolutely incredible. Jane Austen's mastery of storytelling is unbelievable. Her ability to capture human nature in their best and worst qualities is amazing. She is my favorite author, and nothing I've read of hers has ever fallen short of incredible.

David M. Shapard's edition of the novel contains annotations and illustrations that bring Regency England into the 21st century. It explains the social customs, politics, clothing, and even furniture. He explains all aspects of Regency life as it pertains to the novel to bring it to life in a way I thoroughly enjoyed. It made reading the novel more interesting and enthralling because I understood everything that was happening much better.

I have read his annotated edition of Sense & Sensibility, and I plan to collect all of Jane Austen's novels he has edited.

Elizabeth is the main character, though we do a few times see Darcy's perspective. I found her to be feisty and spunky, but respectful and intelligent. Her journey from being prejudiced against everything she saw in Darcy to loving him was a beautiful and subtle arc that spread behind the events in the novel.

Dary was initially quite prideful, and it wasn't until he got quite a shock from Elizabeth that he saw exactly how he was behaving for what it was. His journey was also wonderful to see, and the end result of both their journeys through the story made my heart happy.

This is the most well known of Jane Austen's novels, and it's been adapted to film many times. However, the ultimate adaptation according to Austenites is the one starring Colin Firth as Mr. Darcy.

I honestly couldn't tell you how many times I've watched this miniseries in the last fifteen years. One of my favorite activities is to turn on one of my Jane Austen miniseries, including this one, and craft for hours at a time. It's relaxing and peaceful, and I get to immerse myself in the stories of my favorite author.

While the adaptation starring Keira Knightley as Elizabeth uses more lines directly from the book, I find this adaptation closer to the story and characters Jane Austen created. The performances are exquisite, and I love the casting.

The only casting I'm not particularly fond of is that of Mr. Collins. While the actor captured the essence of the character, in the novel, Mr. Collins is twenty-five years old, and David Banbury is much older than that. I think he was in his forties when this was filmed. I would have wished for a younger actor to play him, but David Banbury did an excellent job at portraying the ridiculousness that was at the heart of the character.

I'm anxious to watch this again now that I've finished reading the novel. It's always a treat.

Photo Credit: Katherine Elizabeth

Stars Image Credit: lovethenerddesigns