Pride and Prejudice is an 1813 romantic novel of manners written by Jane Austen. The novel follows the character development of Elizabeth Bennet, the dynamic protagonist of the book who learns about the repercussions of hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between superficial goodness and actual goodness. Its humour lies in its honest depiction of manners, education, marriage, and money during the Regency era in Great Britain. Mr. Bennet of Longbourn estate has five daughters, but his property is entailed and can only be passed to a male heir. His wife also lacks an inheritance, so his family will be destitute upon his death. Thus, it is imperative that at least one of the girls marry well to support the others, which is a motivation that drives the plot. The novel revolves around the importance of marrying for love rather than money or social prestige, despite the communal pressure to make a wealthy match. Pride and Prejudice has consistently appeared near the top of lists of "most-loved books" among literary scholars and the reading public. It has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, with over 20 million copies sold, and has inspired many derivatives in modern literature. For more than a century, dramatic adaptations, reprints, unofficial sequels, films, and TV versions of Pride and Prejudice have portrayed the memorable characters and themes of the novel, reaching mass audiences. Plot summary The novel is set in rural England in the early 19th century. Mrs. Bennet attempts to persuade Mr. Bennet to visit Mr. Bingley, a rich bachelor recently arrived in the neighbourhood. After some verbal sparring with her husband, Mrs. Bennet believes he will not call on Mr. Bingley. Shortly afterwards, he visits Netherfield, Mr. Bingley's rented residence, much to Mrs. Bennet's delight. The visit is followed by an invitation to a ball at the local assembly rooms that the entire neighbourhood will attend. At the ball, we are first introduced to the whole Netherfield party, which consists of Mr. Bingley, his two sisters, the husband of one of his sisters, and Mr. Darcy, his dearest friend. Mr. Bingley's friendly and cheerful manner earns him popularity among the guests. He appears attracted to Jane Bennet (the Bennets' eldest daughter), with whom he dances twice. Mr. Darcy, reputed to be twice as wealthy, is haughty and aloof, causing a decided dislike of him. He declines to dance with Elizabeth (the Bennets' second-eldest daughter), stating that she is not attractive enough to tempt him. Elizabeth finds this amusing and jokes about it with her friends. Mr. Bingley's sisters, Caroline and Louisa later invite Jane to Netherfield for dinner. On her way there, Jane is caught in a rain shower and develops a bad cold, forcing her to stay at Netherfield to recuperate, much to Mrs. Bennet's delight. When Elizabeth goes to see Jane, Mr. Darcy finds himself getting attracted to Elizabeth (stating she has "fine eyes"), while Miss Bingley grows jealous, as she herself has designs on Mr. Darcy. Elizabeth herself is indifferent and unaware of his developing interest in her. Mr. Collins, Mr. Bennet's cousin and the heir to the Longbourn estate, visits the Bennet family. He is a pompous, obsequious clergyman who intends to marry one of the Bennet girls. After learning that Jane may soon be engaged, he quickly decides on Elizabeth, the next daughter in both age and beauty. Elizabeth and her family meet the dashing and charming army officer, George Wickham, who singles out Elizabeth. He says he is connected to the Darcy family and claims Mr. Darcy deprived him of a "living" (a permanent position as a clergyman in a prosperous parish with good revenue) promised to him by Mr. Darcy's late father. Elizabeth's dislike of Mr. Darcy is confirmed.At the ball at Netherfield, Mr. Darcy asks Elizabeth to dance, and, despite her vow never to dance with him, she accepts. Excluding Jane and Elizabeth, Elizabeth's mother and younger sisters display a distinct lack of decorum. Mrs. Bennet hints loudly that she fully expects Jane and Bingley to become engaged, and the younger Bennet sisters expose the family to ridicule by their silliness. Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth. Her father informs her that if she doesn't marry Mr. Collins, her mother will never speak to her again, but if she does marry Mr. Collins, her father will never speak to her again. She rejects Collins, to her mother's fury and her father's relief. Shortly afterward, the Bingleys suddenly depart for London with no plans to return. After Elizabeth's rejection, Mr. Collins proposes to Charlotte Lucas, a sensible young woman and Elizabeth's friend. Charlotte, older (27), is grateful for a proposal that guarantees her a comfortable home and a secure future. Elizabeth is aghast at such pragmatism in matters of love. Meanwhile, a heartbroken Jane visits her Aunt and Uncle Gardiner in London. It appears that Mr. Bingley has no intention of resuming their acquaintance. In the spring, Elizabeth visits Charlotte and Mr. Collins in Kent. Elizabeth and her hosts are invited to Rosings Park, the imposing home of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, imperious patroness of Mr. Collins and Mr. Darcy's wealthy aunt. Lady Catherine expects Mr. Darcy to marry her daughter, as planned in his childhood by his aunt and mother. Mr. Darcy and his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam, are also visiting at Rosings Park. Fitzwilliam tells Elizabeth how Mr. Darcy recently saved a friend, presumably Bingley, from an undesirable match. Elizabeth realises that the prevented engagement was to Jane and is horrified that Mr. Darcy interfered. Later, Mr. Darcy proposes to Elizabeth, declaring his love for her despite her low social connections. She rejects him angrily, stating she could never love a man who caused her sister such unhappiness and further accuses him of treating Wickham unjustly. Mr. Darcy brags about his success in separating Bingley and Jane and suggests that he had been kinder to Bingley than to himself. He dismisses the accusation regarding Wickham sarcastically but does not address it. Later, Mr. Darcy gives Elizabeth a letter, explaining that Wickham, the son of his late father's steward, had refused the living his father had arranged for him and was instead given money for it. Wickham quickly squandered the money and when impoverished, asked for the living again. After being refused, he tried to elope with Darcy's 15-year-old sister, Georgiana, for her considerable dowry. Mr. Darcy also writes that he separated Jane and Bingley due to Jane's reserved behaviour, sincerely believing her indifferent to Bingley, and also because of the lack of propriety displayed by some members of her family. Elizabeth is ashamed by her family's behaviour and her own lack of better judgement that resulted in blinded prejudice against Mr. Darcy. Some months later, Elizabeth accompanies the Gardiners on a tour of Derbyshire. They visit Pemberley, the .... Discover the Darcy Burke popular books. Find the top 100 most popular Darcy Burke books.