Pride and Prejudice

Five marriageable girls, a nervy mother, a sarcastic father, a sensible best friend, and a plethora of good-looking young men in uniform and breeches. What’s not to like?

This novel has everything. The story of two people who fall in love with each other in spite of themselves is still as fresh as paint today, and the supporting cast is fantastic. Austen’s writing is pin-sharp, revolutionary, and addictive.

I’ve read the novel hundreds of times, but I never tire of its wit, romance, and perfect plotting. Whether you love a good romance, enjoy digging around in the dusty corners of… show more.

This classic has been my guide to Victorian gentility, language, thought, and conversation.

Austen is a master of coming to terms with ill-gotten beliefs, false impressions, bad behavior, developing understanding, reversal of fortune, the plight of nineteenth-century women, and burgeoning affection. Austen writes of coming of age, loss of innocence, personal growth, burgeoning sexuality, and battling to be heard in a sea of voices.

Her characters are primarily strong modern women thrust into a world of the past where the patriarchy would slam them down. Elizabeth Bennet will not suffer the fools of her age without close examination, a rebellious… show more.

Who wouldn’t describe Jane as a fabulous writer of romantic comedy?

This book – often televised, for me, is frankly one of Jane’s best. It was a toss-up – it could equally have been Sense and Sensibility or Emma. In this one, both Elizabeth and Darcy have several prejudices to overcome. Their pride, of course, being one.

I love Jane’s sense of humour and writing style, sparkling dialogue, brilliant scene setting, and descriptions that all make her books as easy to read now as they would have been two hundred years ago. We follow the hero and heroine on… show more.

As my book is about her, I must recommend Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, which was my introduction to her writing.

The inspiration for my book came from a newspaper article about the sale of a handful of her papers bought by The Bodleian Library for £1m. My writer’s ‘What if...?’ asked: If a few pages are worth £1m, how much would a few complete manuscripts be worth? And so the story idea was born.

One problem. At that time I’d never read a Jane Austen novel! My wife recommended this book; I became an instant fan devouring all the… show more.

Can you even call yourself a romance reader if you don’t like Jane Austen or haven’t read Pride and Prejudice?

Pride and Prejudice is widely regarded as the first romantic comedy published. Lizzy is a strong heroine, Darcy a strong, silent alpha male. They both have awesome character arcs and a happy ending. It’s a fantastic book, written by a groundbreaking author.

(PS: The BCC production of Pride and Prejudice from 1995 is also brilliant.) Sigh.  

Elizabeth was one of those characters that really stuck with me as being an independent woman in a time when it was frowned upon for women to behave as she did.

She doesn’t spend her time kissing up to rich men just to get their attention, and even though she does end up with a man of high status, she makes him earn her affection. Everybody around her is shocked that she doesn’t seem interested in playing the same game that they are, and I love that about her. She made the choices that most benefited her and it works… show more.

Not being especially thrilled with romance, I appreciated the psychology aspect in Austen’s 1813 classic story.

As the main characters, Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy are woefully unaware of their pride and prejudices. Austen leads each into a wrenching “change of sentiment” all their own. In her delightful manner, Austen demonstrates how the power of personal honesty is nothing new; some people can learn, some people can change. I couldn’t agree more.

Pride and Prejudice is the OG romance novel. It has every romance beat in the perfect place.

When Elizabeth refuses Darcy’s proposal? Gasp. The internal battle over loving her? The hidden enemies to lovers? Grumpy/Sunshine? Although it’s a regency classic, that doesn’t mean it doesn’t hold up to being one of the swoony-est love stories of all time and I will stand by that statement until I die.

As an erstwhile comedy writer, I had to include one comic novel, and this is the best of all time.

If you don’t think Mrs. Bennett is a truly horrifying, you’ve never been embarrassed by your mother! This book is perfectly put together, the plot is a structure masterclass and Mrs. Bennett: hysterical, gossipy, nosy, and a massive hypochondriac is one of the funniest characters ever put to paper.

On the page, it’s even better than Colin Firth in a wet shirt.

This is the OG of enemies-to-lovers romances and as a Brit, I’d be remiss to overlook it.

Set at the turn of the 19th Century, this follows the fortunes of the Bennet family, notably Elizabeth Bennet, as she navigates the tricky world of marriage along with her four sisters. Her mother is particularly hysterical about marrying all her daughters off in good time, much to the bemusement of Mr. Bennet, who mostly stays out of the whole affair.

Enter Fitzwilliam Darcy, rich landowner and, in the words of Cher Horowitz, ‘snob-and-a-half.’ He clashes with the independent and free-spirited Elizabeth… show more.