Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice is a novel of manners by Jane Austen, first published in 1813. The story follows the main character, Elizabeth Bennet, as she deals with issues of manners, upbringing, morality, education, and marriage in the society of the landed gentry of early 19th-century England. Elizabeth is the second of five daughters of a country gentleman living near the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, near London.

Though Austen set the story at the turn of the 19th century, it retains a fascination for modern readers, continuing near the top of lists of "most loved books." Pride and Prejudice has become one of the most popular novels in English literature, selling over 20 million copies, and receives considerable attention from literary scholars.

Modern interest in Pride and Prejudice has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and an abundance of novels and stories imitating Austen's memorable characters or themes