Everyone has read this, right? Well, not me until just a few months ago.
And for those of you out there who, like me, have made it past 23 without
reading this darling novel, hie thee to a bookstore immediately! This is
the only Jane Austen novel I have ever read and it won't be the last.
The Bennet family is barely hanging on to their status as landed gentry. In fact, when Mr. Bennet dies they will be left with nothing, since the family property can only be inherited by sons and the Bennet family is composed of man, wife, and five daughters. Mrs. Bennet knows that the easiest way to solve this is to marry her children off. The novel focusses on the eldest two daughters, Jane and Eliza, and their quests for matrimonial bliss. Jane has caught the eye of a rich young bachelor, much to the chagrin of his best friend Mr. Darcy. But Eliza is scheming and not afraid to go to battle for her sister against the filthy rich and well connected Darcy. The odds are stacked in Darcy's favor, as long as he can keep his pride about him... and his eyes from wandering to Eliza's pretty smile.
To me, the plot here takes a back seat to the delightful characters inhabiting this novel. Eliza is one of my favorite heroines I've ever encountered. She has amazing spunk. Darcy is a complex and stuck up delight. The secondary characters are all a treat. Mrs. Bennet is hysterically ill-mannered and boorish. Her husband is bookish, churlish, and surprisingly lovable. Their cousin's obsequieousness cracks me up as he fawns all over God and everyone else.
This novel is a fun easy read. It is pretty fast paced throughout, but after Eliza's second proposal (she gets to turn down all kinds of people — I told you she had spunk!) the anticipation in the novel almost drove me crazy. Here is a book that truly deserves its fame.
When you've read the book drop me a line. I'd love to hear what you think!