As you may or may not know, one of the books that touched my life and my bringing up was the beautiful Pride and Prejudice by the famous Jane Austen. If you know not who she is and what book I speak of, please make haste and get to the nearest bookstore and by the book! It is a must for any lady of any age above 14 - at least this is what I think and feel... I do not remember when I first layed my hands upon the book or when I saw the first adaptation of it on the screen, but I do know I was mesmerised by it and the moment I read the book I wanted to read all that Austen has wrote. She has this way of taking you back in time and creating round characters that you can immediately fall in love with :)
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The wonderful novel we speak of today actually was celebrated last month - in January - for her 201st year since her first apparition on the printed page! :) Jane Austen’s first attempt to publish Pride and Prejudice, under the title of First Impressions, occurred in 1797, when she was twenty-one. It was not until 1813 that it, now substantially revised, appeared in print. The title page of the initial edition only said, “by the author of Sense and Sensibility”; the latter book, her first published work, had only said, “by a lady.” Jane Austen consistently shied away from notice, though she did express appreciation for the money her books furnished. Her identity was only revealed to the general public after her death. P&P was the most popular of her novels during her time - and of course, even after her death! - and she always looked to the characters in it most kindly and with great warmth. She would speak of her book as "my own darling child" and would say of the main heroine, Elizabeth, that she was “as delightful a creature as ever appeared in print”. Jane Austen was very attached to her characters and she was determined to give them what she could not have in real life: a happy ending and true love.
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Jane was very attached to everything and everyone she created from the corners of her mind. It comes to no surprise to learn that in the letters she wrote to her family she suggested that Jane Fairfax dies young in childbirth, Kitty Bennet marries a young clergyman, and Mrs. Norris leaves William Price a large sum of...one pound... Can you imagine that?! Kitty marrying a clergyman! I could see Mary doing that but fun loving Kitty?! Wow! Now that is a development! :) In her lifetime Jane completed six novels, including Northanger Abbey, Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, and Persuasion. Four of them were published before her death. She did never think her novels would become such big hits! For me it is sad that she never got to experience true love... or maybe she did but true love for her did not necessary mean marriage... Sometimes I wish I could go in time and talk to her and I am sure that if I would ever go back in time I would be as much out of place as Elizabeth was - I would cause riots after riots as I would not be able to keep my mouth shut and I would always say what I think, totally unproper!
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Pride & Prejudice is the standard for me for all the period movies and the books. And NO! period movies are NOT the movies that you usually watch when you are at your period, thank you very much! ;p (FYI: A period film is a film that attempts to faithfully depict a specific time period. This type of film has dramatically improved with advancements in filmmaking, such as the ability to replicate better costumes and set designs using new techniques and special effects. All of these advancements allow the audience to suspend their disbelief and visit the time period the filmmaker is attempting to depict.) The story follows the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.
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If you ever read this book (or if you watched the movie) than you must have fallen in love with Lizzie and Darcy - if you have not, shame on you! and make sure you read the book again until you will learn to appreciate them! Darcy IS the TRUE GENTLEMAN! The way he walks, the way he talks, the way he behaves even when he is a pain in the arse still makes you love him. And all the small acts of love that he does for Lizzie, even after he refused him, makes he even more of a man! I truly believe also that Jane Bennet, the eldest of the Bennet sisters, was made after the image of Jane Austens sister Cassandra - this is how I feel about her, how I see her being still and gracious and kind, the image of a true lady...
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Do tell me, have you ever read P&P? Did you do that when you were small? How did it influence you?!
P.S. The adorable pictures were taken from separate Etsy products related to Pride and Prejudice, that I truly like and if I would be insane enough I would even purchase them but I see no place where I could actually wear them. Although the painting/drawing would look so very nice on a fresh wall that I am really considering it for when we will have our own home ;)
Yours truly, The LadyBug who loves Jane Austen & Pride and Prejudice
