Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice (1813) by Jane Austen. I scarcely feel worthy to review a novel which is considered a classic and which, to tell the truth, I frequently had trouble understanding. But review it I must, so I set down here my thoughts on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. First of all, it is the book equivalent of a chick flick. It is bound to appeal chiefly to women, as it is all about women and their unjust treatment by the old British practice of entailment. For those who don't know, entailment is a legal maneuver whereby it is arranged that property shall not be inherited by female heirs, but that it shall go to the nearest male heir. In this book, the Bennet family has five daughters, and the family's property is entailed to a male cousin, the odious Mr. Collins. A woman's only strategy to get around entailment is to marry a man who is rich. In this novel, Jane and Elizabeth Bennet, both in their early twenties, manage to get engaged to a Mr. Bingley and a Mr. Darcy -- but only after much ruffling of feathers and gnashing of teeth. The book consists mostly of gossip, either verbal or in letters, speculating over this one or that one's marriage prospects. All that said, it is a cleverly written novel, and at times a joy to read. I can only but give it the highest recommendation, and a Grade: A