Happily Ever After

Celebrating Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice

Susannah Fullerton

• Publisher: Frances Lincoln
• Year: 2013
• Print ISBN: 9780711233744
• eBook ISBN: 9781781011119
• Topic: Literatura

In 2013 Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice turns 200. Again and again in polls conducted around the world, it is regularly chosen as the favourite novel of all time. Read and studied from Cheltenham to China, there are Jane Austen Societies from Boston to Buenos Aires, dedicated to sharing the delights of Jane Austen's masterpiece.

Here is the tale of how Pride and Prejudice came to be written, its first reception in a world that didn't take much notice of it and then its growing popularity. As well as discussing the famous characters – sex-symbol Mr Darcy, charming heroine Elizabeth Bennet, and the superb range of comic characters who make readers laugh again and again – Susannah Fullerton looks at the style of the novel – its wicked irony, its brilliant structuring, its revolutionary use of the technique known as 'free indirect speech'.

Readers through the years have both loved the book and hated it – the reactions of writers, politicians, artists and explorers can tell us as much about the reader as they do about the book itself. Pride and Prejudice has morphed into many strange and interesting forms – screen adaptations, sequels, prequels and updates. Happily Ever After explores these, and the wilder shores of zombies, porn, dating manuals, T-shirts, tourism and therapy.

Index

Page numbers in italic refer to captions

Amis, Martin ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

Annesley, Mrs ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

Auden, W.H. ref 1, ref 2

Austen, Cassandra (JA’s sister) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10, ref 11

Austen, Cassandra (JA’s mother) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

Austen, Edward (JA’s brother) ref 1

Austen, Francis (JA’s uncle) ref 1

Austen, George (JA’s brother) ref 1

Austen, George (JA’s father) ref 1, ref 2

Austen, Henry (JA’s brother) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5

Austen, James (JA’s brother) ref 1, ref 2

Austen-Leigh, James Edward (JA’s nephew) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3

Badel, Alan ref 1

Ball, Robert ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5

Bannerman, Celia ref 1

Baragrey, John ref 1, ref 2

Basingstoke ref 1, ref 2

Bath ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4

Becoming Jane ref 1

Bebris, Carrie ref 1, ref 2

Beethoven, Ludwig Van ref 1, ref 2

Benn, Rev. John ref 1

Benn, Mary ref 1

Bennet, Catherine (Kitty) ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4,ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10, ref 11, ref 12

Bennet, Elizabeth ref 1, ref 2, ref 3, ref 4, ref 5, ref 6, ref 7, ref 8, ref 9, ref 10, ref 11, ref 12, ref 13, ref 14, ref 15, ref 16, ref 17, ref 18, ref 19, ref 20, ref 21, ref 22, ref 23, ref 24, ref 25, ref 26, ref 27, ref 28, ref 29, ref 30, ref 31, ref 32, ref 33, ref 34, ref 35, ref 36, ref 37, ref 38, ref 39, ref 40, ref 41, ref 42, ref 43, ref 44, ref 45, ref 46, ref 47, ref 48, ref 49, ref 50, ref 51, ref 52, ref 53, ref 54...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Title page
• Dedication
• Contents
• Introduction
• ‘My Own Darling Child’: The Writing of Pride and Prejudice
• ‘A Very Superior Work’: Reactions to Pride and Prejudice
• ‘A Truth Universally Acknowledged’: The Famous First Sentence
• ‘Bright and Sparkling’: The Style of Pride and Prejudice
• ‘As Charming a Creature’: The Heroine, Elizabeth Bennet
• ‘Mr Darcy . . . is the Man!’: The Hero, Fitzwilliam Darcy
• ‘The Female Line’: Her Relations
• ‘The Same Noble Line’: His Relations
• ‘Delighting in the Ridiculous’: Other Characters
• Pride and Prejudice Goes Overseas: The Translations
• ‘Pictures of Perfection’: Illustrating and Covering Pride and Prejudice
• Did They All Live Happily Ever After?: Sequels and Adaptations
• Bonnets and Bosoms: Film and Theatrical Versions
• Mugs and Skateboards: Selling Pride and Prejudice
• ‘Behold Me Immortal’: Pride and Prejudice Now and in the Future
• Endnotes
• Bibliography
• Acknowledgments
• Index
• Picture Credits
• Other Jane Austen titles by the Aurum Publishing Group
• Copyright