I know many of you have long ago read Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen. Our son said he read it every year for a number of years. Well, both my wife and I had somehow not read it.

In early May the movie came on TV and we watched it. This was the 2005 version with Keira Knightly, Matthew Macfadyen, and Donald Sutherland. We found the story difficult to follow. Part of this was the English accents; part the overlapping talking by multiple characters in rapid-fire succession; part the sometimes low volume of the voices, such as when the Bennet girls were talking at balls. So, after watching the movie, we decided to read the book aloud in the evenings. We read from an older copy that has been in my family many years. Charles Westcott (“Uncle” Charlie), a good friend of my great-grand uncle David Sexton, gave it to my mother in 1934, according to the inscription. I don’t know if it originally had a dust jacket, but it doesn’t have one now.

I’m glad we read it.  Reading aloud is slower than reading silently. It took us twenty sittings over a month and a half to complete it. While the language is somewhat archaic, it is a classic that everyone should read. It has become a cultural icon. While I had heard of the title for years without thinking much about it, my attention was first drawn to it by the mentions in the movie You’ve Got Mail. Of course, I didn’t really understand what the Hanks and Ryan characters said about it. Next time I see that movie, I should understand it better.

I don’t think there’s much point in my digging deeply into this classic, analyze the writing, or critique the plot and character development. Pride and Prejudice is much loved by millions. It has stood the test of time, and will be read and loved for at least another century. I hope to read it again sometime in the future. And to see the movie again. We watched it a second time right after reading the book. We were able to follow the plot, but I would really like to understand more of the dialog. Darn those British accents. Darn those silly little girls who all talk at once in hushed giggles. I fear I’ll never be able to understand it all.

This particular book is a keeper. It’s not exactly a collectable, as it’s a little too new, and it looks to have been somewhat of a mass-market hardback. But, it’s in excellent condition. To misquote Harry Potter, the binding is not fragile. It goes back on the shelf, this time next to Sense and Sensibility for easier future findability. I need to re-read that one some day.