Consider This Classic: Ellie Recommends

Consider This Classic: Ellie Recommends

• Oct 30, 2013

Consider This Classic is a monthly feature where bloggers highlight and recommend their favorite classic. They'll tell you when they first read it, why they love it and where to go from there. If you'd like to participate in Consider This Classic, click here to sign up.

This month, I've got Ellie from Book Revels here sharing her favorite classic. Ellie is a blogger I found through Betty and Jamie (she's in their book club!), and I'm so glad I did. And I'm particularly excited about her recommendation this month because it's a favorite of mine. I was thrilled when she told me she was choosing this book!

Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen

Publication Date: 1813
Originally Published In: United Kingdom
Amazon | Goodreads

Summary (from Goodreads)

"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of good fortune must be in want of a wife."

Pride and Prejudice has delighted generations of readers with its unforgettable cast of characters, carefully choreographed plot, and a hugely entertaining view of the world and its absurdities. With the arrival of eligible young men in their neighborhood, the lives of Mr. and Mrs. Bennet are turned inside out and upside down. Pride encounters prejudice, upward-mobility confronts social disdain, and quick-wittedness challenges sagacity, as misconceptions and hasty judgments lead to heartache and scandal, but eventually to true understanding, self-knowledge, and love. In this supremely satisfying story, Jane Austen balances comedy with seriousness, and witty observation with profound insight.

I first picked up Pride and Prejudice in twelfth grade. For English class, we were given a list of books to choose from to write a critical paper about and Pride and Prejudice was the only one that appealed to me. Plus, I'll admit I thought it would be the easiest to write about! I ended up falling completely in love with it in a way that I had never connected to a classic before.

I'm very picky when it comes to romantic relationships in books. I have extremely high standards: there has to be depth, complexity, and flaws, and I prefer the slow-building kind of relationship. Elizabeth Bennet and Mr. Darcy's relationship in Pride and Prejudice is the quintessential example of a perfect book couple to me. Their path to true love is rife with misunderstandings. They let their pride and prejudice get in the way of forming a meaningful connection with each other. What I love most is how they transform over the course of the novel and let go of their first impressions. They both make mistakes, but they own up to them and find each other at least. They change because of each other and become better people for it. Their love story will always be one of my favorites.

For Darkness Shows the Stars by Diana Peterfreund - A retelling of a different Austen novel, but has the same kind of relationship that flounders because of misunderstandings. I think fans of Pride and Prejudice will enjoy this one.

P.S. My favorite Pride and Prejudice adaptations are the Keira Knightley movie and the Lizzie Bennet Diaries!