Pride and Prejudice (Worldview Critical Editions)

Pride and Prejudice, ‘my own darling child’ of Jane Austen has retained its popularity with the reading public over the years. The novel examines the paradigm of courtship romance in the context of the social changes that overtook England following the French Revolution. Elizabeth’s Bennet’s with and independence of mind attract Darcy, the proud master of Pemberley, and the novel unfolds their love-hate relationship in a style marked by irony and epigrammatic brilliance. In Elizabeth Bennet’s marriage to Darcy, the novel offers a romantic fantasy the captivated readers then and does so even today. This reader-friendly edition of Pride and Prejudice provides and Introduction by B Mangalam that places Jane Austen’s life to her context and traces the course of recent Austen criticism. It also discusses the question of War, Women and Marriage. Appendix I provides excerpts from women authored texts from 1790-1820 coinciding with the creative period of Austen while Appendix II gives excerpts from Austen criticism from 1813-1950. Five critical essays on the novel by Amrita Bhalla, B. Mangalam, Meenakshi Malhotra, Shampa Roy, and G. Aparna offer stimulating insights. A Chronology linking Austen’s career to her literary and historical context suggested readings are other inputs of this edition.