Published 28 January 1813 · T. Egerton, Whitehall
Pride &
Prejudice
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."
Hover the title to reveal the manuscript's original name
Publication History
Original Title
First Impressions
Final Title
Pride and Prejudice
First Drafted
October 1796 – August 1797
Published
28 January 1813
Publisher
T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall
Format
Three volumes, duodecimo
Original Price
18 shillings (≈ £1,100 today)
First Print Run
Approx. 1,500 copies
Author Credit
"By the Author of Sense and Sensibility"
Dedication
None (unlike later works)
Jane Austen began drafting First Impressions in October 1796, completing it by August 1797. Her father, the Reverend George Austen, was so impressed that he offered the manuscript to the London publisher Thomas Cadell on 1 November 1797. Cadell declined it sight unseen.
Austen substantially revised the novel between 1811 and 1812, and it was published on 28 January 1813 by Thomas Egerton, who had previously published Sense and Sensibility (1811). The first edition sold out within months, and a second edition appeared in November 1813.
The novel has never been out of print. It has been translated into more than 35 languages and has sold over 20 million copies worldwide, making it one of the most popular novels in the English language.
Plot Synopsis
Vol. I
Arrivals & First Impressions
When Charles Bingley, a wealthy young bachelor, leases Netherfield Park in Hertfordshire, the Bennet family—comprising five unmarried daughters—is thrown into excitement. At a local assembly ball, Bingley is immediately drawn to the eldest daughter, Jane. His proud friend Fitzwilliam Darcy, however, slights the second daughter Elizabeth, declaring her 'tolerable, but not handsome enough to tempt me.' Elizabeth's wit and independence are established; Darcy's pride becomes his defining trait.
Vol. II
Entanglements & Revelations
George Wickham, a charming militia officer, tells Elizabeth that Darcy cheated him of a promised inheritance. Elizabeth's prejudice against Darcy deepens. Meanwhile, the obsequious clergyman Mr. Collins proposes to Elizabeth—and is roundly refused. He promptly marries Elizabeth's pragmatic friend Charlotte Lucas. Visiting Charlotte at Rosings Park, Elizabeth encounters Darcy again. He proposes, but his declaration is laced with condescension about her family's inferiority. She rejects him fiercely, citing his treatment of Wickham and his role in separating Jane from Bingley.
Vol. III
Reversals & Resolution
Darcy writes Elizabeth a letter dismantling her accusations: Wickham is revealed as a dissolute fortune-hunter who attempted to elope with Darcy's fifteen-year-old sister, Georgiana. Elizabeth is forced to confront her own prejudice. Touring Pemberley with her aunt and uncle, she sees Darcy's true character reflected in the respect of his servants. When Lydia elopes with Wickham, Darcy secretly finances the marriage to save the Bennets from ruin. His actions, free of pride, complete Elizabeth's transformation. Bingley and Jane reunite; Darcy proposes again. This time, Elizabeth accepts.
Major Themes
Pride & Prejudice as Moral Blindness
The novel's central thesis is that pride and prejudice are two sides of the same coin—both distort perception. Darcy's pride in his social standing prevents him from seeing Elizabeth's worth; Elizabeth's prejudice, inflamed by Wickham's lies, blinds her to Darcy's true character. Austen demonstrates that self-knowledge, not social status, is the foundation of moral integrity.
Marriage as Economic Contract
In Regency England, marriage was the primary means of financial security for women. The novel presents a spectrum of marriages: Charlotte Lucas marries Mr. Collins purely for economic survival; Lydia marries Wickham out of reckless passion; Jane and Bingley marry for mutual affection; Elizabeth and Darcy achieve the ideal—love grounded in mutual respect and intellectual equality. Austen does not condemn Charlotte's pragmatism, but she clearly elevates Elizabeth's refusal to marry without love.
Class, Mobility & the Landed Gentry
The Bennets occupy a precarious position: genteel but not wealthy, with an entailed estate that will pass to Mr. Collins. Darcy's £10,000 a year (approximately £1 million today) places him among the richest landowners in England. Austen uses these economic realities not as backdrop but as the engine of every plot turn. Lady Catherine de Bourgh's fury at the prospect of Elizabeth marrying Darcy is, at its core, about the perceived contamination of bloodlines by trade—Elizabeth's uncle Gardiner is 'in trade' in Cheapside.
The Power of Letters & Language
Darcy's letter to Elizabeth at Hunsford is the novel's structural pivot. In an era before telephones, the letter was the medium of truth. Austen uses it to reverse the entire moral landscape of the story in a single chapter. Language itself is a weapon and a mirror: Elizabeth's wit is her defence mechanism, Darcy's formality is his armour, and Mr. Bennet's irony is his escape from a disappointing marriage.
Quote of the Day
I am only resolved to act in that manner, which will, in my own opinion, constitute my happiness, without reference to you, or to any person so wholly unconnected with me.
Elizabeth Bennet, Chapter LVI
Jane Austen
Born
16 December 1775, Steventon, Hampshire
Died
18 July 1817, Winchester (aged 41)
Novels
Six completed, two unfinished
Published Anonymously
"By a Lady" — all novels during her lifetime
Jane Austen was born on 16 December 1775 at the rectory in Steventon, Hampshire, the seventh of eight children of the Reverend George Austen and Cassandra Leigh Austen. She was educated primarily at home, with access to her father's extensive library, and began writing stories, plays, and novellas in her teens—works now collectively known as her Juvenilia.
Her six completed novels—Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), Emma (1815), Northanger Abbey and Persuasion (both published posthumously in 1817)—were all published anonymously during her lifetime. Austen earned approximately £631 from her writing in total during her life (roughly £60,000 today), a modest sum that belied the lasting impact of her work.
Austen never married. In December 1802, she accepted a proposal from Harris Bigg-Wither, a wealthy Hampshire landowner, but withdrew her acceptance the following morning. Her letters to her sister Cassandra—of which Cassandra destroyed a significant portion—remain the primary biographical source.
She died on 18 July 1817 in Winchester, likely of Addison's disease or Hodgkin's lymphoma. She is buried in Winchester Cathedral. Her identity as an author was revealed to the public by her brother Henry in the "Biographical Notice" attached to the posthumous edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion. Today she is regarded as one of the greatest writers in the English language, and her portrait appears on the Bank of England £10 note.
An Illustrated Timeline
The long journey of Jane Austen's most beloved novel — from a draft titled First Impressions, rejected unread in 1797, to a Victorian treasure and a mass-market paperback. Click any year to reveal its story; the great illustrated editions carry their original plates.
Compiled from the Jane Austen's House online exhibition, first-edition bibliographies, and the novel's own text.
Enter the Regency
The world of Pride and Prejudice does not end at the page. Fashion, society, courtship, balls, travel and daily life — the whole era that shaped Elizabeth and Darcy awaits in a dedicated companion site. Step through and explore the Regency in its own right.
Visit the Regency Revelry Hub
Cultural Legacy
First edition published by T. Egerton. Sells out within months.
Second edition published in November. A third edition by John Murray follows in 1817.
George Saintsbury's preface to a new edition coins the term 'Janeites' for devoted Austen readers.
First major film adaptation: MGM's Pride and Prejudice starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier.
BBC television serial starring Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle becomes a cultural landmark; Firth's 'lake scene' enters popular mythology.
Joe Wright's feature film with Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen receives four Academy Award nominations.
Seth Grahame-Smith publishes Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, launching a wave of mashup literature.
Bicentenary celebrations worldwide. The Bank of England announces Jane Austen will appear on the £10 note.
New £10 polymer note featuring Austen enters circulation on 14 September.