Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice follows sharp, witty Elizabeth Bennet as she clashes with the proud Mr. Darcy in Jane Austen's classic tale of love and manners.

Elizabeth is the second of five Bennet sisters, growing up in a small English town where a good marriage is the only real path to security. When the wealthy Mr. Bingley rents the estate next door, he brings along his friend Mr. Darcy, a tall, reserved man with a fortune and a famously bad temper. Elizabeth takes an instant dislike to him, and Darcy, for his part, seems to look down on her family and her town. Neither one is quite right about the other.

Over the course of a few English seasons, the two are thrown together at dances, dinners, and country walks, trading barbed remarks that slowly turn into something else. Along the way there are wrong first impressions, a soldier with a smooth manner and a hidden past, a meddling aunt, and Elizabeth's own sisters, each chasing love or security in her own way. Elizabeth has to look past her own pride, and Darcy past his prejudice, before either can admit what they feel.

This is a coming-of-age romance and a comedy of manners, sharp about class, money, and family, but warm at its center. It suits listeners who enjoy Regency-era fiction, slow-burn romance, or the kind of story where the wit is as important as the love story. Fans of Jane Austen's other novels, or of gentle period dramas in general, will feel right at home here.

The pace eases you down rather than keeping you turning pages. Let the ballroom chatter and the long country walks settle around you, and fade out well before Elizabeth and Darcy work out what they mean to each other.