Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Few have failed to be charmed by the witty and independent spirit of Elizabeth Bennet. Her early determination to dislike Mr. Darcy is a prejudice only matched by the folly of his arrogant pride. Their first impressions give way to true feelings in a comedy profoundly concerned with happiness and how it might be achieved. (A short and sweet summary taken from Amazon)

I've been wanting to read Pride and Prejudice for awhile, because I feel like I don't read any real literature. But I was a little afraid that I wouldn't be able to understand anything, since it was written in 1813. That was not the case at all, though. I have to admit, the book was slow-going, and you have to have a lot of patience to get through it. But I understood everything, and I was proud of myself for reading a literary masterpiece. I actually thought it was pretty funny. There was sarcasm and wit and it was a very good story. I liked Elizabeth and the transformation of her feelings for Mr. Darcy. At first, she thinks he's rude and arrogant and she doesn't like him at all. But then she discovers things about him that she doesn't know, and starts to fall in love with him. There are also a wide array of character types that make the story interesting: there's the comedic characters, like Mrs. Bennet or Mr. Collins, and then there's the characters that are sweet, like Jane and Mr. Bingley. Jane Austen wrote her novels to represent the lives of the gentry in England, and I could definitely tell that her characters were inspired by real people. I thought Pride and Prejudice was a great look into the lives of the people of the time, and even more accurate since it was actually written in the nineteenth century.

By the way, isn't the cover pretty? Unfortunately, it wasn't the cover of the book I was reading, but I just decided to pick the one I liked best for the picture.

8 out of 10.