My Dear Readers,

It feels wrong to say this, but…I’ve never read Pride and Prejudice. I know, I know: “How can you have a degree in English without reading PRIDE AND PREJUDICE? WITHOUT READING JANE AUSTEN?!” Look, I don’t know either, but I’ve managed to avoid it for this long. The truth is, I’m just not the biggest fan of 19th-century English literature. I mean, I specialize in YA fiction, which is heavily modern-day. This isn’t to say that I don’t read other periods– in undergrad, I minored in ancient history, so I’m very familiar with Classical Greek plays and poetry. It’s just that, on previous attempts, Pride and Prejudice has never really grabbed my attention.

But, my partner loves it, and Pride and Prejudice 2005 is her favorite movie. The first time we watched it together (yes, I watched the movie first, tell me off later) I was incredibly sick from the same condition I talk about in my review of Alex Snodgrass’ the Defined Dish cookbook. I’d been hunched in my partner’s bathroom for an hour, and she managed to coax me downstairs to slurp on a bowl of chicken soup, and huddle under some blankets with her cat on my legs. As my partner stoked the fire after setting a mug of steaming cinnamon tea at my elbow, I was so grateful for her tender care, and I told her she could pick any movie she wanted to watch that night, no protests from me.

I’ll give you one guess what she chose.

I quite liked the movie Pride and Prejudice. It has a great soundtrack, and Keira Knightley’s accent is very pleasant. And, though Darcy doesn’t do anything for me since I’m a lesbian, I do envy him for his cool suits, his very tall boots, and his absurdly flowy shirts. My partner is also insistent that we run at each other in a fjord someday, professing our deep love for one another– I’ll have to make that happen, although I don’t know exactly when.

But, after watching the film, my partner made me promise: I would read Pride and Prejudice and report back to her with my thoughts on the accuracy of the film vs. the original book.

It’s been over a year since that promise was made. Tomorrow, I’m going to see my partner in Scotland, where she’s currently doing research in pollination studies. I still have not finished reading Pride and Prejudice. So, in an attempt to complete my task I will be providing a series of live-reading updates regarding my takes on the book, the book vs. the movie, and just generally how I’m finding the experience.

Beloved, this is all because of you, and I hope you enjoy.

Ardently yours,

Aidan Trulove.

VOLUME ONE

WARNING BELOW FOR OBVIOUS SPOILERS

• I really like the use of physical letters in the Heller edition, it makes it feel more real!
• Mrs. Bennet is hilarious, poor Mr. Bennet, though he could be more direct with his wife.
• Elizabeth… do you like other women? But also I get what she’s saying because Darcy, that’s a really weird standard to uphold for what an “accomplished” woman is. I have almost none of those skills and I have multiple degrees.
• Bingley is very sweet in the book and in the movie, he makes me laugh. He and Jane make an adorable couple.
• Caroline confuses me, but also I feel bad for her because Darcy is NOT taking the hint. The way he only looks up to watch her walk when Elizabeth gets up is killing me.
• ENTER MR. COLLINS YESSSS he’s so funny.
• “Mr. Bennet spoke scarcely at all” I’m surprised anyone is getting a word in while Mr. Collins is here. Also I think it would have been funnier in the movie if he hadn’t been allowed to start reading from the book of sermons, the way it plays out in the book is more interesting.
• BOOOOO WICKHAM BOOOO0
• Oh INTERESTING, Caroline tries to tell Elizabeth about Wickham’s character but Elizabeth doesn’t listen and insults Caroline to her FACE, not a great move when your sister is trying to marry her brother.
• Thoughts on the first volume: surprisingly funny! Is it bad that Mr. Collins is my favorite character?

VOLUME TWO

• UHG Bingley come back!!! Jane is waiting!!
• Elizabeth I KNOW you hate Mr. Collins but Charlotte has far fewer choices than you do and you could at least TRY to understand where she’s coming from. You don’t have to say yes to Mr. Collins but don’t get mad at Charlotte for making a different choice.
• OOOOO starting to learn more about Wickham, I’m surprised Elizabeth isn’t having more of a reaction? Things seemed to be going pretty well there.
• Lady Catherine and Mrs. Bennet kinda seem like foils for each other, they both have this obsession with making matches for their daughters, they both have a deep interest in what’s going on outside of their families and telling other people what to do, they both obsess over Elizabeth’s “odd” behaviors.
• “I am not one and twenty” reading books from this time period always makes me feel so OLD and I am only “three and twenty.”
• I LOVE Fitzwilliam (even though he is FAR too old to be hitting on Lizzy), thank you for being the only one who’s being honest about what Darcy is up to. I love Darcy but did he really think he could get away with breaking up Lizzy’s sister’s marriage AND insulting the entire Bennet family WITHOUT LIZZY FINDING OUT??? AND THEN PROPOSE TO HER?????
• To all the people who complain about them cutting stuff out of the movie: I get it. There’s a lot of great scenes in this book that didn’t make it in, like the strolls Lizzy takes through the gardens while visiting Lady Catherine. However. Have you considered that Darcy’s letter to Lizzy is SEVEN PAGES LONG. When he starts, the man does not stop talking.
• Lizzy half an hour is not nearly enough cry time after receiving a letter like that. I would be in bed for at least two days straight sobbing from embarrassment.
• OOOO Elizabeth! The subtle shade at Wickham is perfect. Also NOOOOO Lydia, I think I know where this is going.
• Thoughts on the second volume: the pacing is so nice in this section. It makes a lot more sense than the movie in terms of scale.

VOLUME THREE

• “Let me just go to Darcy’s house, I’m sure he won’t be there– DARCY WHAT ARE YOU DOING AT YOUR HOUSE?” zzzz
• The amount of walking they do in this book is insane. They’re very casually going around Darcy’s TEN MILE estate. My calves would be dying. Mrs. Gardiner I feel for you.
• “Elizabeth was not comfortable,” me neither Elizabeth, the most awkward thing you could have said to him is “sorry I didn’t actually want to see you and I asked multiple people to make sure you wouldn’t be here, whoops.”
• How tall is Darcy’s sister if she’s “on a larger scale than Elizabeth”? I don’t know why this detail stands out to me but it also occurs to me that we really don’t know how tall Elizabeth is.
• Hilarious that everyone except Elizabeth and Darcy seems to know exactly what’s up with them. They think they’re so subtle.
• WICKHAM WHEN I CATCH YOU, oh my God Lydia is fifteen!!!! This is way more horrifying in the book, Jane’s letter is distraught.
• People need to be nicer to Mary, because this is a fantastic line: “that loss of virtue in a female is irretrievable– that one false step involves her in endless ruin– that her reputation is no less brittle than it is beautiful,– and that she cannot be too much guarded in her behavior towards the undeserving of the other sex.”
• Mr. Collins is no longer a favorite. No, it would not be better if Lydia were DEAD or for them to disown her, why would he even say that????
• I’m glad Lydia gets to see her family again before leaving, but wow, this scene is painful in both versions! BUT YES DARCY, USE YOUR MONEY FOR GOOD!
• The re-introduction of Jane and Bingley’s relationship makes so much more sense here!
• I’m honestly shocked the Lady Catherine scene is real! I thought they just made that up for the film! She really came all the way down here to yell at Lizzy for something Lizzy doesn’t even know!
• THEY’RE ENGAGED YESSSSSS IM SO HAPPY!!!!! Also the switch Austen makes toward the end to using first person pronouns in the narration is interesting.
• Thoughts on the third volume: so much happens in this one I really had to work to keep up, but overall I think the ending is pretty satisfying! I especially love the relationship between Eliza and Georgiana, which isn’t in the film nearly as much. It’s a very sweet book, and I’m glad I’ve finally finished!!!

Full review coming soon!

Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. Curated by Barbara Heller, Chronicle Books, 2020.

Moggach, Deborah, et al. Pride & Prejudice. Universal Studios, 2005.