Pride and Prejudice

This is one of Austen's earliest novels, and its generally considered the most popular. It is a story of love and class. Elizabeth Bennet is the daughter of a country gentleman, who is comfortably off but not as rich as Darcy. Her mother is middle class and silly and vulgar. Elizabeth takes a dislike to Darcy, because he is so arrogant and sneers at her for not being handsome enough to dance with Darcy and his friend, Bingley, arrive at Meryton, when Bingley rents Netherfield Park, a nearby estate. Bingley is rich, but his money was made in business. He now wants to buy an estate and rents the house, and comes to stay there with his 2 sisters, Caroline, who is attractive but spiteful, and Louisa, who is married to a man who is not that well off. Darcy is from an aristocratic family, and he domineers over the gentler, younger Bingley. Elizabeth is aware that her prospects for marriage are not good as she and her sisters only have a small portion each.. and the family estate will go to their cousin Mr Collins when her father dies. When Mr Collins comes to visit the Bennet family, he shows himself to be a very silly man, who shows a foolish admiration for his patroness, Lady Catherine de Bourgh who is Darcy's aunt. He is a clergyman. He offers to marry Elizabeth as that would save the family from losing the house when Mr Bennet dies. Elizabeth firmly refuses him and her mother is very angry. Jane and Bingley seem to be falling in love but Jane is uneasy that his sisters, though they seem affectionate, may not want him to marry a girl with only a small dowry, when he could do better.