The Cambridge Companion to Pride and Prejudice

by Janet Todd (Editor), Andrew Elfenbein (Contributor)

Named in many surveys as Britain’s best-loved work of fiction, Pride and Prejudice is now a global brand, with film and television adaptations making Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy household names. With a combination of original readings and factual background information, this Companion investigates some of the sources of the novel’s power. It explores key themes and topics in money, land, characters and style. The history of the book’s composition and first publication is set out, both in individual essays and in the section of chronology. Chapters on the critical reception, adaptations and cult of the novel reveal why it has become an enduing classic with a unique and timeless appeal.

Genres: Nonfiction, Jane Austen, Literature

234 pages, Paperback

First published February 1, 2013

About the author

Janet Todd (Jan) is a novelist, biographer, literary critic and internationally renowned scholar, known for her work on
women’s writing and feminism. Her most recent books include
the novel: Don't You Know There's A War On?;
edition and essay: Jane Austen’s Sanditon;
memoir: Radiation Diaries: Cancer, Memory
and Fragments of a Life in Words;
biography: Aphra Behn: A Secret Life;
the novel: A Man of Genius 2016.
Jane Austen and Shelley in the Garden: An Illustrated Novel, forthcoming 2021

A co-founder of the journal Women’s Writing, she has published biographies and critical work on many authors,including Jane Austen, Mary Wollstonecraft, her daughters, Mary (Shelley) and Fanny (Death And The Maidens) , and the Irish-Republican sympathiser, traveller and medical student, Lady Mount Cashell (Daughters of Ireland).

Born in Wales, Janet Todd grew up in Britain, Bermuda and Ceylon/Sri Lanka and has worked at schools and universities in Ghana, Puerto Rico, India, the US (Douglass College,
Rutgers, Florida), Scotland (Glasgow, Aberdeen) and England (Cambridge, UEA). A former President of Lucy Cavendish College, Cambridge, she is now an Honorary Fellow of
Newnham College.

Reviews

[Julie Bozza · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love Cambridge Companions to Literature, so I am always ready to gobble up those focussed on my favourite authors or topics. This volume looked very promising - not only about one of the best novels by one of my favourite authors, but also recognising that Pride and Prejudice has been passionately adopted across a broad range of popular culture in the last few decades, with all sorts of fiction, fan fiction, ephemera and other creations resulting.

The early chapters about more traditional literary matters were as excellent as I expect from the Cambridge Companions. However, I was disappointed by the notes of disapproval in the latter chapters about the more modern phenomena - especially Janet Todd's scathing chapter about Darcy, and the 'romantic hero' in the Romance genre. She's not entirely wrong, but there's also so much more to be said!

So, mixed reactions and only four stars from me, when usually Cambridge Companions are a dead cert for five. Oh well!

[Damaskcat · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a collection of fifteen essays about various aspects of Jane Austen's 'Pride and Prejudice'. I found it an interesting read and it brought out aspects of the novel which I hadn't considered before.

I was especially interested by the essay entitled 'Austen's Minimalism' because I hadn't really noticed that she often doesn't say where her characters are when they are talking. The background to most of the scenes is minimally sketched in. She doesn't give us long descriptions of clothes, scenery and the interiors of houses. In spite of this most readers have in their heads what they think the background is like and how the characters are dressed and what they look like.

I was also interested in the essay about sequels and prequels to 'Pride and Prejudice' as have read a few of these and have loved some and hated others. As the essay correctly says, Austen's characters are universal and can translate to the twenty first century and beyond as well as to any country in the world.

If you love 'Pride and Prejudice' then you will enjoy this book which is aimed at the academic and the general reader alike. There is a guide to further reading and an index as well as an interesting preface by the editor of this volume, Janet Todd.

[Devoney Looser · Rating 5 out of 5]

I contributed a chapter to this book, so this isn’t a disinterested review, but I’m really pleased to have been a part of a great collection! Janet Todd has given us a terrific book on an important subject.