Horror for Newbies
Sadie asked this question about Pride and Prejudice:
How do I understand the language in Pride and Prejudice? I'm 13 and we haven't studied it in school but I would like to read it for fun but I can't understand even the first page! Can someone please help me out!
Dani Sadie, I bear glad tidings of an event which is, unhappily, seven years too late for your thirteen-year-old self but most fortuitous for current and f…moreSadie, I bear glad tidings of an event which is, unhappily, seven years too late for your thirteen-year-old self but most fortuitous for current and future readers in a similar predicament:

Laura Wood has adapted Pride and Prejudice in a wonderful way: by reducing it to 100 pages and reordering a few lines here and there she has managed to produce a book that is a perfect stepping stone to the original and a great book in its own right!

That first page, and first chapter, for example: she’s moved the complex opening line to a few paragraphs further, allowing Lizzy to say it in gentle mockery of her mother and in collusion with her father. This fits perfectly with Lizzie’s character and her relationship with her father and, in any case, Jane Austen’s narrator was already ‘ channelling’ Lizzie.

So the story and the characters are unspoilt, the language is still a bit challenging to modern readers but in a much more manageable way. I would still recommend an e-book or a handy dictionary, but this won’t break the flow as often as with the original.

Plus, the original will still be waiting for you when you’re done, and you’ll get the humour much quicker after reading this version.

It’s published by Barrington Stoke, who I confess I had never heard of before but apparently they do a lot to make books accessible for dyslexics, among other things. I will definitely look out for more of their books after reading this one!
(less)
flag
More questions about Pride and Prejudice…
Image for Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice
by Jane Austen
Rate this book
Clear rating
1 of 5 stars2 of 5 stars3 of 5 stars4 of 5 stars5 of 5 stars

About Goodreads Q&A

Ask and answer questions about books!

You can pose questions to the Goodreads community with Reader Q&A, or ask your favorite author a question with Ask the Author.

See Featured Authors Answering Questions

Learn more