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Primary sourceBook1813

Pride and Prejudice

Jane Austen · 1813

Jane Austen's second-published novel (1813), a comedy of manners about the Bennet sisters, marriage and social class.

Austen's own novel, written and published anonymously by her, later recognised as her best-known work.

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Scan of the title page of the first edition, volume one, of Pride and Prejudice: A Novel, in three volumes, by the author of Sense and Sensibility. London, printed for T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1813.
Title page, first edition of Pride and Prejudice, London: T. Egerton, 1813.

About this source

What it is

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1813. It was her third novel written, drafted years earlier, and became the second to reach print. The first edition was printed anonymously for T. Egerton in London, with the title page crediting only "the author of Sense and Sensibility".

Why it matters

The novel follows Elizabeth Bennet and her family as they navigate marriage, money and class in English society. It is considered one of the most popular novels in English literature and shows Austen's skill at ironic social observation, especially around the limited choices open to women without inherited wealth.

Look closer

  • Why do you think Austen published without her name on the title page?
  • What does the plot suggest about the pressures facing women and families like the Bennets?
  • How might the entail on the Longbourn estate shape the whole story?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Jane Austen on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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A printed portrait illustration of a woman, used as a frontispiece in a book of Jane Austen's novels.Painting

Secondary source

Portrait of Jane Austen, Winchester Edition

1898

Title page of the first edition of Emma, Vol. I. Text reads: EMMA: A NOVEL. IN THREE VOLUMES. BY THE AUTHOR OF PRIDE AND PREJUDICE, &c. &c. VOL. I. LONDON: PRINTED FOR JOHN MURRAY, 1816. Cream-colored paper with black serif type.Book

Primary source

Emma

Jane Austen · 1815

Title page of the 1818 first edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, printed in London by John Murray, Albemarle-Street. Text reads: Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. By the author of Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield-Park, &c. With a biographical notice of the author. In four volumes. Vol. I.Book

Primary source

Persuasion

Jane Austen · 1817 (title page dated 1818)

Title page of the first edition of Sense and Sensibility, a novel in three volumes, by a Lady, Vol. I, London, printed for the author and published by T. Egerton, Whitehall, 1811.Book

Primary source

Sense and Sensibility

Jane Austen · 1811

Title page of the 1818 first edition of Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, printed in London by John Murray, Albemarle-Street. Text reads 'Northanger Abbey: and Persuasion. By the author of Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield-Park, &c. With a biographical notice of the author. In four volumes. Vol. I.' Aged cream paper with foxing.Book

Primary source

Northanger Abbey

Jane Austen · written c. 1799, published 1817 (title page 1818)

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