1813 · Novel of manners / romance
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice (1813) is Jane Austen's second published novel and her most famous work. It follows Elizabeth Bennet, the quick-witted second of five sisters, as she navigates courtship, class, and her evolving judgment of the proud Mr. Darcy in Regency-era England.
Few novels open with a sentence as instantly recognizable as “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” With that line Austen announces her method: comedy on the surface, economics underneath.
From “First Impressions” to publication
Austen drafted the novel as First Impressions between October 1796 and August 1797, when she was just twenty-one. Her father offered it to the publisher Thomas Cadell in November 1797; it was declined by return of post, unread. She revised it substantially around 1811–1812, retitled it, and sold the copyright to Thomas Egerton for £110.
Why it endures
The marriage plot was hardly new in 1813. What Austen added was a heroine who thinks — and misthinks — in front of us, and a narrative voice (free indirect style) that lets us share Elizabeth’s errors as if they were our own.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Pride and Prejudice published?
Pride and Prejudice was published on 28 January 1813 by Thomas Egerton. Austen had drafted it as "First Impressions" between 1796 and 1797.
What is Pride and Prejudice about?
The novel follows Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy, whose mutual misjudgments — her prejudice, his pride — must be overcome before they can marry. It is both a love story and a sharp comedy of manners about money, class, and marriage.
Why is Pride and Prejudice a classic?
Its opening sentence is among the most quoted in English literature, its heroine remains one of fiction's most beloved, and its irony and social observation have kept it continuously in print for over two centuries.