Pride and Prejudice

The novel opens with the Bennet family in upheaval with excitement over the arrival of the Bingleys, a new family renting a neighbouring estate, particularly because of the prospect of Mrs Bennet being able to marry off one of her five daughters to Mr Bingley. Although wealthy enough to maintain an estate (called Longbourn), the family only has daughters, meaning that their wealth will be passed along to a cousin, the odious Mr Collins, so it is imperative for the girls to marry well. Mrs Bennet is especially keen that one of her daughters should marry Mr Collins to ensure the property stays within the family’s hands, and Mr Collin proposes to Elizabeth, but she refuses him. He instantly proposes to Charlotte Lucas, Elizabeth’s best friend, and she grimly accepts him for his wealth. An attraction develops between the serene eldest daughter Jane and the handsome Mr Bingley. However, our main character – the witty and lively Elizabeth Bennet – immediately dislikes Mr Darcy, the handsome though haughty (and extremely wealthy!) friend of Mr Bingley. Meanwhile, Mr Darcy grows to admire Elizabeth.

A group of soldiers arrives in the village, sending the two youngest Bennets, Lydia and Kitty, into fits of excitement as they attempt to flirt with them. Elizabeth gets to know the very handsome and charming Mr Wickham, who tells her that Mr Darcy has essentially spitefully denied Wickham of his rightful inheritance, as the two families are connected.Mr Bingley suddenly leaves Netherfield without a word to the Bennets, leaving Jane in turmoil.

Elizabeth goes to visit the newly (though unhappily) married Charlotte and Mr Collins, where she meets Lady Catherine de Bourgh, the wealthy snobwho is the patroness of Mr Collins and coincidentally Mr Darcy’s aunt. Mr Darcy is around, and makes a shocking proposition of marriage to Elizabeth, blindsiding her. She emphatically refuses him, blaming him for Jane and Mr Bingley’s break up and also accuses him of cheating Wickham. He leaves quietly, although Elizabeth receives a letter from him admitting that he did encourage Bingley away from Jane because he thought the relationship was not serious. However, he counters Mr Wickham’s accusation, telling Elizabeth that Mr Wickham is in fact not what he seems... not a charming, good-spirited man, but a scoundrel who squandered away his inheritance and then tried to elope with Mr Darcy’s fifteen year old sister, Georgiana. Scandalous!

Elizabeth returns home from Charlotte’s house feeling a sense of regret about her initial prejudice towards Mr Darcy, and rebukes Mr Wickham’s advances. The soldiers leave soon afterwards, heading to Brighton, which is coincidentally where the youngest sister, the boy-mad Lydia, is spending the summer... something troubling may be brewing.

Elizabeth then embarks on another trip, this time with her aunt and uncle, because what else is there for an unmarried young woman to do? They end up close to Pemberley, Mr Darcy’s famed estate, and Elizabeth is persuaded by her aunt and uncle to visit there, though they do so assuming that Mr Darcy is not home (because apparently this was an acceptable thing to do). Pemberley is absolutely wonderful, until it turns out that Mr Darcy is in fact home. Elizabeth and Darcy run into each other in the garden (although Mr Darcy is apparently not wearing wet white t-shirt like Colin Firth in the film adaptation!). He is very polite and Elizabeth is impressed and even more remorseful.

Word arrives that Lydia has eloped with Mr Wickham, however, the affair seems unlikely to end in marriage. Everyone is worried her unvirtuous behaviour could destroy the family’s reputation so no one will want to marry the other sisters. Elizabeth tells Darcy, who then bribes Wickham to marry Lydia. He also encourages Bingley to get back with Jane and they become engaged. Elizabeth finds out, and falls in love with him. He proposes again, and she accepts, and the book ends with the double wedding of Jane and Bingley, and Elizabeth and Darcy.