It's amazing how well that novel stands up. Even today it still feels fresh. Lizzie is SUCH a vivid character. I once heard a sweet old literature professor say "I've been in love with Lizzie Bennett for 60 years," and I can see why.
The decorum in Regency England would make a low class person to say whatever & whenever you want, just as her sister Mrs Philips & Mrs Bennet are lable "vulgar" in those days, as we see that most of the gentle rolled their eyes when these sisters are talking, & most of the time Elizabeth & Jane are very much embarrassed by their mothers behavior, but we all have these kinds of family members😂
Hello! Thank you so much for your amazing content. I am originally from Russia, but am planning to go to Oxford for a BA in English Language and Literature. Everything you do is very helpful and very inspiring.
Thank you so much, Kate! You've completely made my day! It's so exciting to hear your Oxford plans :) The university's English Language and Literature course is an incredible journey!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Another reason I watch your videos is your beautiful eyes. :3 I already have two degrees in philosophy and I adore Japan, so your channel and your personality make me very happy. Thank you ❤️
The way I ran to my old and tattered copy of pride and prejudice after this video! I live in a small town in India and miss out on so many foreign references in books even though I have devoured them repeatedly. I have all the STEM majors in my family so internet has been my only guide to reading and appreciating literature. I’ve found your channel today and I fully intend to binge watch the rest of the videos the moment I’m through with Pride and Prejudice. It feels like I’m gonna read it in a completely new light today. Thank you so much, you’re doing god’s work out here!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy It was a great year. I read each novel three times, plus biographies, essays, the complete letters of, and even some spin off novels such as Miss Austen by Gill Hornby and The Other Bennett Sister. I watched lectures by John Mullan. I watched every film adaptation I could find. I read Jane Austen and the Clergy, Time Travellers Guide to Regency Britain, Jane Austen and Her World, biographies by Claire Tomalin, Lucy Worsley, Elizabeth Jenkins and JE Austen-Leigh, you get the idea. It was a brilliant year.
I have tried to get into Austen for years, and have started and subsequently stopped Pride and Prejudice about four times now. I just could not get into it. I’m happy to say that after watching this video, I have now started Pride and Prejudice and am enjoying it and getting into it! So thank you for your work. I’ve always enjoyed your informative, passionate, and insightful videos on literature. Keep up the good work.
Wow! Thank you so much :) That makes me so happy to hear! It actually took me a very long time to come around Austen too, so I completely relate to your experience. I really appreciate the kind words, and I'm thrilled you're enjoying Pride and Prejudice now!
@@MsOlikk Thanks for the comment. I finished it about 2 weeks ago and loved it. Elizabeth and Darcy was both such interesting and complex characters. I enjoyed seeing Lizzy's character arc, and her growth as she learns the truth about Darcy. I will definitely have to read it again at some point in the near future.
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Thank you! Honestly, your channel has been such a source of inspiration and knowledge. I'm now reading Joyce's Ulysses and am cherishing every moment.
From 22:32 to 23:37, Benjamin references a conversation between Elizabeth, Darcy, and Miss Bingley. The conversation defines what a woman is supposed to be and Elizabeth rightly remarks on how it is an impossible ask. In last year’s movie “Barbie” America Ferrera’s big speech is an echo of this very conversation. It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong. You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people. You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood. But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful. You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault. I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know.
So passionate, so deep, so touching, so enlightening and inspiring lecture. Benjamin, thank you so much for sharing your passion for the literature. You have my eternal gratitude for influencing my soul.
Struggling with this one... My heart and mind are still with Otello and Master and Margarita... Thanks for the lecture, professor, it definitely helped! 😊
This was a great video about one of my all time favourite novels. And I was VERY excited by one part of it: I never knew that most novels were published in three volumes back in the day. This explains why 'At length, quite exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book, which she had only chosen because it was the second volume of his...' . Miss Bingley put down her book and asked Lizzy to walk with her... That passage always intrigued me, but is so much clearer now.
So true we recognise ourselves and our families in her novels. I’m pretty sure my family would see me as Mrs Bennet (I love her!) and my husband, Mr Bennet. I’ve always said I prefer the Brontes to Austen but this video has made me want to revisit her books. I feel converted. Thank you so much for such a wonderful video and all the care you put into it.
Aw, thank you so much, Josephine! I really appreciate that :) I think it's a really great thing if readers recognise their own family in the Bennets. I struggle to think of many literary families who love each other as fully as the Bennets! ☺️
Thanks for the great video! I just re-read the book last month (I first read it when I was in middle school😂) and I absolutely fell in deep love with Austen’s portraits of the characters, and got a thorough understanding of the groundbreaking significance of the work during that period of time. Now I want to re-read all the classics I might not understand when I first touched them decades ago.
I have attempted to read P&P twice and DNF both times. I thought, maybe I'm not an Austenphile and was content with that. Many years have passed since my last attempt to read P&P, and just last year, I decided to give Emma a go. I adored it. I absolutely love that book. Persuasion was my next read, and I loved it as well. Maybe before, it was the wrong time in my life to reach for Jane, as now it seems I want to embrace her and give Pride and Prejudice another try. Wish me luck. Hopefully, it will be the good kind.
Hey Benjamin! I have a question but it isn’t related to Pride and Prejudice or Jane Austen. However, I know Mark Twain had an interesting feud with Jane Austen but that’s beside the point. I recently read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I thought it was one of the best things I’ve ever read (I’m not well read and haven’t gotten into much classic literature). Although I was mystified by the quality of the writing and the interworking of different dialects and of course the story itself, I thought the ending sucked. Assuming you have read it, it seems like the ending of the Adventures of Huck Finn completely changes tone. The friendship between Jim and Huck which developed throughout the novel, seems to completely become irrelevant. The moral growth of Huck, which took place throughout his journey with Jim, becomes seemingly undone once Tom Sawyer shows back up. The ending really bummed me out. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and what you think about the ending, as well as if you think that the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is great literature? Also, thank you so much for your channel. Your videos have been an invaluable tool for me as I have started to read more deeply. I recently started War and Peace and plan to spend a year or so diving into it as you recommended in your video on it. I’m only a few chapters in and am definitely intrigued. However, I don’t understand why the descriptions of Princess Helene’s beauty seem so overdone. Anywho, I am looking forward to working through it and seeing what Tolstoy has in store for me. Thanks again for everything!
Great timing! I have been on a Jane Austen kick lately. I just read Emma for the first time, currently rereading Pride and Prejudice, and planning to reread Persuasion (my fav) later this Spring. 😊
Another tour de force taster, sir -- thought about joining after watching your take on Jane Eyre but didn't, think I'll have to now. These are books I love but know little about their levels of historical/cultural context and there are clearly many dimensions more to explore and experience. As far as P&P is concerned, it's my personal favorite of Austen's novels -- as you alluded to, I feel as though I *know* the characters, they have long since come to live inside the same universe as I do (or I theirs). Maybe it's a function of her youth when it was written but the scathing wit and humor is in such a continuous flow there's barely a page that does not make me laugh out loud or deeply marvel at the human spirit that could see and capture our species so clearly. Looking forward to all the coming wisdom. ❤
I listen to the Bbc radio drama adaptation of this book almost every week. Know it almost by heart. Read the novel many times. As you say it is a masterpiece. Thanks. Love your inspirational videos.
Just a few minutes in and your info about the hierarchies is already opening up new facets of the novel I’ve read so often. Wow. I’m already learning a lot. Thank you Benjamin! -Jess
I recently read Pride and Prejudice in manga form and Mr. Collins did not come off as that odious in that version for some reason. I have always felt Mrs. Bennett got a bad rap as her main job was to get her five daughters married off and it was a monumental job.
I completely agree, Petra! Definitely a monumental job, and one that she is very good at! As for Mr Collins, I've personally always sympathised with him quite a bit. I don't think he's too odious :)
I don't think Mrs. Bennet gets enough of a bad rap. She is an extremely selfish creature who always has to be the center of attention. She wants her daughters well married so they won't be thrown into the hedgerows but she works against her own goals and shows she really doesn't care about her daughters at all.
I'd love to see a video where you analyse the different translations of the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales and then say which is your favourite.
No, the navy did not have the same cachet as the army. You had to buy your way into the officer class in the army but not in the navy - it was more classless. A naval officer like Captain Wentworth was promoted through success at sea and if they captured an enemy ship they would divide the spoils among the crew. That was how Wentworth became rich. And Harvill's sister died before her man Benwick made his fortune so he was left heartbroken (until much later when he fell for Louisa Musgrove). I can still recall how heartbroken I was when having read all of her novels I realised she had only written 5. Too few sadly.
This video is incredible and came at just the right time as I finally decided to read Pride and Prejudice! Thanks so much, Ben - I can't wait to dive into it! 😊
Hi Ben, wow - that was such a passionate and informative lecture so beautifully edited with the images you add. I have been following along with the majority of your book recommendations since January 2023 when I reread War and Peace. I’m a little ahead of schedule this year, for fear of falling behind 😊 and yes I know it’s not a race. Pride and Prejudice is still very fresh in my mind and this video has shed a lot of light on the novel. The first extensive draft written at age 20! Characters drawn from real life. Different forms of narration to name but a few. Also your perceptive illumination of the novel’s cultural and historical context. Thanks again 🙏
Hello, Benjamin!😊 I hope you're well. I loved the video; I love Jane Austen and the way in which, through such everyday situations, she revolutionised literature and the way we understand the impact of irony and subtlety. I also love the way you express yourself, you're very clear and imaginative in the construction of your sentences, which makes (for the listener) an immersive experience. In fact, I'm finally reading Moby Dick (your video helped me a lot) and I finished Oblómov a few days ago. You're right, great literature makes us great too. Kisses from São Paulo, Brazil ❤
i came into this video kinda skeptical because it was just uploaded but it was so good!! im reading pride and prejudice for the first time and this really put it into a different perspective
27:23 You're right that "coming out" meant something different now than it did then, but as a queer person I just want to add that they are indeed related. Gay men of the 20th century had "coming outs" at gay bars (the first time they attended, that is) much like women of the 19th century did at balls. It was about introducing yourself to your local queer community. Then in the later half of the century, especially the 80s, there was a push to "come out of hiding/of the closet" to straight family members and friends as well. That was mostly a political thing, used to try and make straight people care about gay rights. And now it's a mix of political and personal expression, depending on who you ask. Anyway, I'm very impressed with this video. I haven't seen anything from you before, but this showed up in my reccomended and I'm definitely going to have a look on your other videos, because this type of in-depth discussion is something I have been looking for for a while! I especially liked the point about character voices bleeding into the narration.
Like a lot of people, I despised Jane Austen the first time I read her and pretty much put down the book after the first chapter. Maybe it's a guy thing but I found it gooey. But I read it again with an open mind and the first thing that struck me was that its unbelievably easy to read and strikingly modern for a book that came out in 1813. But when the Mr Collins scenes came in, that was when I was fully sold on Austen because my lord, she is HILARIOUS. Honoured to share a birthday with her.
Having being forced to read this book in year 7, in a country where english would not be your first language, was plain torture. Everyone in school knew Pride and Prejudice but for entirely different reasons. Safe to say most people despised it. But that's expected at an age when the only thing you maybe watch are mainstream films and tv shows, at least that's what we did. But this video has sparked an interest in me for this long forgotten novel and has provided me a different perspective, which isn't hostile. Thank you
Hello Ben! Another absolutely marvelous video! I just had a question totally unrelated that has been itching at me for the past while. I was wondering if you are planning on doing more Pynchon novels in the future? I understand that your priorities lie with hlbc and its schedule, but I would love to hear your opinions on his other works. Although Gravity's Rainbow is perhaps his most (or second most) recognized, I do believe he has better in his collection. Just thought I would ask out of personal interest. Regardless, love the work that you do and the insight you provide, and look forward to whatever you have in store for the rest of this year and years to come!
Thank you so much for your kind words, my friend. I really appreciate that :) It's so amazing that you ask that because I've been planning a podcast on The Crying of Lot 49. I'd definitely love to discuss more of Pynchon's works, like Mason & Dixon and V, in the future. I'd be very interested to hear which ones are your personal favourites!
This might be a strange question so I apologize if it's confusing, but how do you think Jane Austin would converse with Margaret Mitchell? I ask this because you often talk about having the great works of literature talk with one another during your readings, so I'm wondering how would Austin's "Pride and Prejudice" converse with Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind". Both books are similar in being about landowning families with strong heroines who, in their love lives, start out hating their true love but end up marrying them. However, Darcy and Elizabeth stay together while Rhett Butler leaves Scarlett. Both books discuss themes of economic and social classes, love, family relations, and feminism. However, "Pride and Prejudice" takes place at a time of peace while "Gone with The Wind" takes place during and after war. I haven't read any Austin yet so I was just curious what you would think. Love the video!
Ah, Austen’s have been shelved for much too long so this is encouraging! Nabokov changing his mind on women writers because of Austen is an amusing little anecdote.
Oh it's been less than two weeks that I satisfied my story-hunger with Pride & Prejudice! I wish I had started reading the book after watching this video, for maybe then I would have enjoyed the journey even more than what I did alone, on my own.
My preference for Jane Austen novels: Emma - Mr Knightley is lovely and nicer than Mr Darcy as he is warmer and will do anything for Emma. He's my favourite Austen hero. Pride and Prejudice Persuasion Sense and Sensibility Northagner Abbey Mansfield Park
Loved P&P, enjoyed S&S and Emma; but I could not finish Mansfield Park, it was so dull. I wonder if many other Austen readers feel the same way about Mansfield Park?
Looking for your opinion I have never read any Jane Austen. I have seen the 95 pride and prejudice, but I have no knowledge of sense and sensibility. For my first read of Jane, which do you recommend? Asking everyone in hard-core literature, please.
I LOVE Jane Austen. When I was in the Army, Austen swept me far away from my current situation and off to a different time and place. Thank you for this!
I'm so glad that Austen was able to offer you some comfort during such a traumatic time. Thank you so much for sharing this. As Qamar say, WWI soldiers would read the novels of Austen to escape from the horrors of the trenches. The Medical Corps would specifically recommend her books and stock them in hospital libraries for bibliotherapy. The term 'Janeites' also actually comes from a Kipling short story about a group of soldiers who are secret fans of Austen. He and his wife found solace in Austen when they tragically lost their son in the war. I hope you're keeping well and looking after yourself after your service 🙏
I love this! And I love seeing a man appreciate Austen like this... I don't know, maybe it's just my luck but in the almost five years of me studying literature, I've never seen any of my male professors praise Austen for her work, it has always been the other way around. This made me really happy ❤
Nothing would please me more than if you would do a six video series of her six novels. And maybe even cover the smaller unfinished ones. ❤ this video was lovely.
Every year I re-read Jane Austen's novels, and every year I feel like I’m having a slightly different conversation with her, it’s a feeling I can’t put into words but it’s quite unique. I love Austen, and I love that you’ve come to love her works too!
THANK YOU! I recently dropped this book because I could not force myself to get interested in it but you could convince me to deeply appreciate the literary merit of “if you give a mouse a cookie” if you wanted to so I’m very glad you made this!
This is what I need-because I’m struggling with getting through the Novel-I just think it’s not for me. But I want to see what Austen can offer. This is much needed -thanks Ben
At 13 yo I found Jane Austen as a guide to life. All of her heroines (apart from Catherine Moreland) have absent or incompetent parents and have to figure things out for themselves Anyone who sees these merely as ‘love stories’ are missing the point
Teacher! Brother Pisces! I have not watched this video, but I finished your Paradise Lost video this morning. It’s on my current Read Before Death list, and your video got me more than pumped to start it. There’s so much I wish to say to you with praise and inquiry. I will say I watched one of your Q&A’s this past week, and you offered an ostensibly off-the-cuff reading order for Austen initiates, and your first title was EMMA, so I’ve concluded to start with that one. Short story long… Among other things, I’ve have been quite sporadically tackling the Bradbury Reading Assignment, and I reread Hazlitt’s essay “The Pleasure of Hating”. It might as well have been my first reading because I was outflanked by the last three paragraphs and almost overwhelmed by the DESPAIR of hating by the essay’s end. Teacher (and anyone), is there an essay that’s the complete OPPOSITE of this one that you could recommend as an antidote? Best Wishes and Thank You! Just, Thank You! Haedyn
After reading The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow, I see him in a different light . Although that dinner scene where he remarks on the excellent boiled potatoes can never be forgotten 😂
I have never read a Jane Austen book and feel it's time! This video has given me the energy I need to begin! One is never too old to learn to appreciate a new genre of literature! Thank you!
I had to read this in high school overnight after partying. I read it straight through, got an hour of sleep, then went to class and wrote a decent essay. It was fun, even exhilarating. Read it subsequently in college, but that first read was much more fun.
Aw, thank you so much, Nancy!! I'm so thrilled you're joining the reading journey with us and am so excited to hear what you make of these great books! ☺️🙏
My first introduction to Pride and Prejudice was when I was 8. The 1995 version was on TV for the second time and I was recovering from major surgery (hip operation). I didn't fully understand the story at the time but I loved the costumes, locations, actors, etc. I read the novel in my late teens and loved it. I love the Bennet family and I think Mr Darcy is rude but maybe is uncomfortable in different social circles. I highly recommend the audiobook read by Lindsey Duncan, she has a wonderful voice. I think Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle are the perfect Darcy and Elizabeth! Emma is my favourite Jane Austen novel closely followed by Pride and Prejudice. I just feel that Mr Knightley is warmer than Mr Darcy. Thanks for the video Ben and giving me an opportunity to talk about Jane Austen. I own the folio society edition, the illustrations are beautiful. X
Thank you 🎉 for this wonderful introductory lecture to Jane Austen ‘s Pride and Prejudice which covers everything one needs to know about her ,the times she lived in and the rise of the novel. Really looking forward to the rest of the Austen series. And everybody ´s comments. 🎉
Another wonderful video Benjamin! Although I don’t consider myself nearly well-read enough to swim in the pool with you and your readers in the Hardcore Literature club, I do very much enjoy anything you have to say. I loved your video about Whitman so much! You amaze me. Thanks for your hard work here! ❤
What a coincidence, I started Pride and Prejudice a few days ago after watching your How to Read Jane Austen video! I had trouble acclimating to the environment and characters through the first hundred pages or so, but now im very immersed in the novel!
Thank you for this lovely video, Ben. My husband - otherwise an enthusiastic and ambitious reader - can’t stand Austen. Although he says he feels like giving her another go - hope he will go for Persuasion (my favourite) and then we can watch the Ciarán Hinds / Amanda Root tv adaptation afterwards. Fingers crossed!
The 1st time that I attempted to read Pride and Prejudice I was too busy and too distracted to make it past the 1st few pages. Later, when a job took me a 1000 miles away from friends, family and distractions, I picked it up because I was lonely and bored, As in Ausen's England, I had no television and no radio, so it seemed like my life was a good match. Up until then, I was unhappy to be bored and lonely. After reading the book, I was still lonely but no longer unhappy. And have gratefully read it several times in the intervening years.
Wonderful introduction to Austen. Compared to other Austen works, there's a great deal of activity in P&P.. So, many wonderful characters. While my favorite novel of hers is Persuasion, this is understandably her most influential work.
Dr Octavia Cox has some interesting videos about Jane Austen novels, including breakdown of class distinctions, which actually added a lot of context to an area that is less intuitively understood nowadays. Once you realise who is being snobby, who is overcompensating (ahem, ahem, Caroline, ahem, and Mr Collins) and who is less snobby than expected (Darcy) it makes for much more interesting interactions.
Just recently completed pride and prejudice, i had started months ago but felt it was a little difficult as english is my second language.. But this video inspired me to read the book and now i am done... I loved the book❤❤
Wow!! Congratulations on reading and finishing Pride and Prejudice! It's very impressive that you read the book in the original English. I'm so happy you loved it, Mahima! 🥰
Ok, now I have to read it again. 😂 Pride and Prejudice is the book that started my journey of falling in love with classic literature. I first read it at about 15 years old. I was homeschooled starting at 12 years of age, and as an American without much previous exposure to the classics, I was so excited to get the chance to read this particular novel when it came up in the curriculum we were considering. I couldn’t wait to get to it, and was not disappointed. Due in part to the fact that, luckily, I had never seen an adaptation or heard much of the story, other than the names “Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet”, and the fact that they didn’t like each other much at first, I was transfixed and enraptured. The story was so gripping, and the people so fascinating; this novel showed me that classics were not boring! Along with Oliver Twist, another book on the curriculum, it proved how delightfully hilarious classics could be! For some reason, I had been under the impression that classics, while interesting, were probably not very humorous. I was so delighted to find that I was mistaken, as I dearly love to laugh. 😉 I have since read it one other time, about two years ago. I am now so excited to read through it again, with the fresh insights which you have shared here. I have read all of Jane Austen’s novels but one, Mansfield Park, but so far, P&P is still my favorite of her works. It will always have a very special place in my heart. Thank you for sharing all of this!
This was wonderful! It's always such a pleasure to find content that you enjoy watching and reading as much, or more than the book itself. Thank you for making such a thoroughly enriching and rewarding video to watch. I consider my time very well spent.
For anyone wanting to watch a shorter televised version other than the excellent 1995 series, I can highly recommend the 1980 TV series starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. Although a little staged by modern standards, it's very closely adapted to the book. In my opinion Elizabeth Garvie gives the the most authentic performance of Elizabeth Bennet ever brought to the screen. The script also closely follows the dialogue.
You had me at "Jane Austen".
😂😂😂 the way he said with such passion. Ben would be such a pleasurable lecturer to listen to.
Well said “You had me at “-Hello!” ” 😅❤️
😂
It's amazing how well that novel stands up. Even today it still feels fresh. Lizzie is SUCH a vivid character. I once heard a sweet old literature professor say "I've been in love with Lizzie Bennett for 60 years," and I can see why.
It’s a truth universally acknowledged that I’m happy to see this book being discussed.
Arey bhaiiiiiiiiii
Mrs Bennet is also one of my favorites! She will say out loud what people think and is so funny! I absolutely love this book! Thankyou so much!
Ha, this is so true! I'm so happy she is one of your favourites too. I adore Mrs Bennet :)
The decorum in Regency England would make a low class person to say whatever & whenever you want, just as her sister Mrs Philips & Mrs Bennet are lable "vulgar" in those days, as we see that most of the gentle rolled their eyes when these sisters are talking, & most of the time Elizabeth & Jane are very much embarrassed by their mothers behavior, but we all have these kinds of family members😂
Hello! Thank you so much for your amazing content. I am originally from Russia, but am planning to go to Oxford for a BA in English Language and Literature. Everything you do is very helpful and very inspiring.
Thank you so much, Kate! You've completely made my day! It's so exciting to hear your Oxford plans :) The university's English Language and Literature course is an incredible journey!
@@BenjaminMcEvoy
Another reason I watch your videos is your beautiful eyes. :3
I already have two degrees in philosophy and I adore Japan, so your channel and your personality make me very happy. Thank you ❤️
Where was this channel all my life you have me excited to read more book and re read the ones I love so much!!!
Aw, thank you so much! I appreciate you being here and sharing your love of reading with me ☺️
The way I ran to my old and tattered copy of pride and prejudice after this video!
I live in a small town in India and miss out on so many foreign references in books even though I have devoured them repeatedly. I have all the STEM majors in my family so internet has been my only guide to reading and appreciating literature. I’ve found your channel today and I fully intend to binge watch the rest of the videos the moment I’m through with Pride and Prejudice. It feels like I’m gonna read it in a completely new light today. Thank you so much, you’re doing god’s work out here!
I undertook to read nothing but Austen and writings about Austen for a calendar year in 2022. I approve this intro. 😁
Thank you, Carla! That is such an amazing reading project! ☺
@@BenjaminMcEvoy It was a great year. I read each novel three times, plus biographies, essays, the complete letters of, and even some spin off novels such as Miss Austen by Gill Hornby and The Other Bennett Sister. I watched lectures by John Mullan. I watched every film adaptation I could find. I read Jane Austen and the Clergy, Time Travellers Guide to Regency Britain, Jane Austen and Her World, biographies by Claire Tomalin, Lucy Worsley, Elizabeth Jenkins and JE Austen-Leigh, you get the idea. It was a brilliant year.
I have tried to get into Austen for years, and have started and subsequently stopped Pride and Prejudice about four times now. I just could not get into it.
I’m happy to say that after watching this video, I have now started Pride and Prejudice and am enjoying it and getting into it! So thank you for your work. I’ve always enjoyed your informative, passionate, and insightful videos on literature.
Keep up the good work.
Wow! Thank you so much :) That makes me so happy to hear! It actually took me a very long time to come around Austen too, so I completely relate to your experience. I really appreciate the kind words, and I'm thrilled you're enjoying Pride and Prejudice now!
Please do read it! I Love it and read it every ear, twice. Please let me know when you're done, I wan't to hear your opinion.
@@MsOlikk Thanks for the comment. I finished it about 2 weeks ago and loved it. Elizabeth and Darcy was both such interesting and complex characters. I enjoyed seeing Lizzy's character arc, and her growth as she learns the truth about Darcy. I will definitely have to read it again at some point in the near future.
@@BenjaminMcEvoy Thank you! Honestly, your channel has been such a source of inspiration and knowledge. I'm now reading Joyce's Ulysses and am cherishing every moment.
From 22:32 to 23:37, Benjamin references a conversation between Elizabeth, Darcy, and Miss Bingley. The conversation defines what a woman is supposed to be and Elizabeth rightly remarks on how it is an impossible ask. In last year’s movie “Barbie” America Ferrera’s big speech is an echo of this very conversation.
It is literally impossible to be a woman. You are so beautiful, and so smart, and it kills me that you don't think you're good enough. Like, we have to always be extraordinary, but somehow we're always doing it wrong.
You have to be thin, but not too thin. And you can never say you want to be thin. You have to say you want to be healthy, but also you have to be thin. You have to have money, but you can't ask for money because that's crass. You have to be a boss, but you can't be mean. You have to lead, but you can't squash other people's ideas. You're supposed to love being a mother, but don't talk about your kids all the damn time. You have to be a career woman but also always be looking out for other people.
You have to answer for men's bad behavior, which is insane, but if you point that out, you're accused of complaining. You're supposed to stay pretty for men, but not so pretty that you tempt them too much or that you threaten other women because you're supposed to be a part of the sisterhood.
But always stand out and always be grateful. But never forget that the system is rigged. So find a way to acknowledge that but also always be grateful.
You have to never get old, never be rude, never show off, never be selfish, never fall down, never fail, never show fear, never get out of line. It's too hard! It's too contradictory and nobody gives you a medal or says thank you! And it turns out in fact that not only are you doing everything wrong, but also everything is your fault.
I'm just so tired of watching myself and every single other woman tie herself into knots so that people will like us. And if all of that is also true for a doll just representing women, then I don't even know.
So passionate, so deep, so touching, so enlightening and inspiring lecture. Benjamin, thank you so much for sharing your passion for the literature. You have my eternal gratitude for influencing my soul.
Aw, thank you so much. That is so incredibly kind of you. I really appreciate you being here and enjoying these great books with me ☺🙏
I absolutely love listening to your voice, which is only enhanced by your insights and deep passion for these great works of literature. Thank you.
Aw, thank you so much! I really appreciate that!! ☺️
Struggling with this one... My heart and mind are still with Otello and Master and Margarita... Thanks for the lecture, professor, it definitely helped! 😊
This was a great video about one of my all time favourite novels. And I was VERY excited by one part of it: I never knew that most novels were published in three volumes back in the day. This explains why 'At length, quite exhausted by the attempt to be amused with her own book, which she had only chosen because it was the second volume of his...' . Miss Bingley put down her book and asked Lizzy to walk with her... That passage always intrigued me, but is so much clearer now.
Always such a treat when there’s a new video from the HCLBC!
I just finished Pride and Prejudice yesterday! Really excited to watch this now
That's amazing! Congratulations on finishing! I hope you found it enjoyable ☺️
So true we recognise ourselves and our families in her novels. I’m pretty sure my family would see me as Mrs Bennet (I love her!) and my husband, Mr Bennet. I’ve always said I prefer the Brontes to Austen but this video has made me want to revisit her books. I feel converted. Thank you so much for such a wonderful video and all the care you put into it.
Aw, thank you so much, Josephine! I really appreciate that :) I think it's a really great thing if readers recognise their own family in the Bennets. I struggle to think of many literary families who love each other as fully as the Bennets! ☺️
Thanks for the great video! I just re-read the book last month (I first read it when I was in middle school😂) and I absolutely fell in deep love with Austen’s portraits of the characters, and got a thorough understanding of the groundbreaking significance of the work during that period of time. Now I want to re-read all the classics I might not understand when I first touched them decades ago.
I have attempted to read P&P twice and DNF both times. I thought, maybe I'm not an Austenphile and was content with that. Many years have passed since my last attempt to read P&P, and just last year, I decided to give Emma a go. I adored it. I absolutely love that book. Persuasion was my next read, and I loved it as well. Maybe before, it was the wrong time in my life to reach for Jane, as now it seems I want to embrace her and give Pride and Prejudice another try. Wish me luck. Hopefully, it will be the good kind.
Hey Benjamin! I have a question but it isn’t related to Pride and Prejudice or Jane Austen. However, I know Mark Twain had an interesting feud with Jane Austen but that’s beside the point. I recently read Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. I thought it was one of the best things I’ve ever read (I’m not well read and haven’t gotten into much classic literature). Although I was mystified by the quality of the writing and the interworking of different dialects and of course the story itself, I thought the ending sucked. Assuming you have read it, it seems like the ending of the Adventures of Huck Finn completely changes tone. The friendship between Jim and Huck which developed throughout the novel, seems to completely become irrelevant. The moral growth of Huck, which took place throughout his journey with Jim, becomes seemingly undone once Tom Sawyer shows back up. The ending really bummed me out. I was wondering if you had any thoughts on The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and what you think about the ending, as well as if you think that the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is great literature? Also, thank you so much for your channel. Your videos have been an invaluable tool for me as I have started to read more deeply. I recently started War and Peace and plan to spend a year or so diving into it as you recommended in your video on it. I’m only a few chapters in and am definitely intrigued. However, I don’t understand why the descriptions of Princess Helene’s beauty seem so overdone. Anywho, I am looking forward to working through it and seeing what Tolstoy has in store for me. Thanks again for everything!
It has been reported that Mark Twain said that it was too bad that they (British) let her (Jane) die a natural death
Fantastic explanation of the era, its customs and the whole Pride and Prejudice novel. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I thank you kind Sir. 👌
Great timing! I have been on a Jane Austen kick lately. I just read Emma for the first time, currently rereading Pride and Prejudice, and planning to reread Persuasion (my fav) later this Spring. 😊
Another tour de force taster, sir -- thought about joining after watching your take on Jane Eyre but didn't, think I'll have to now. These are books I love but know little about their levels of historical/cultural context and there are clearly many dimensions more to explore and experience. As far as P&P is concerned, it's my personal favorite of Austen's novels -- as you alluded to, I feel as though I *know* the characters, they have long since come to live inside the same universe as I do (or I theirs). Maybe it's a function of her youth when it was written but the scathing wit and humor is in such a continuous flow there's barely a page that does not make me laugh out loud or deeply marvel at the human spirit that could see and capture our species so clearly. Looking forward to all the coming wisdom. ❤
This has made my day, Ben! Immense thanks for these wonderful videos that you bring us. :-)
I listen to the Bbc radio drama adaptation of this book almost every week. Know it almost by heart. Read the novel many times. As you say it is a masterpiece. Thanks. Love your inspirational videos.
Loved it !!❤❤
This is how lectures should be.
Aw, thank you so much. I really appreciate that ☺️🙏
I have never read Pride and Prejudice, but now have it in my possession! So glad I found this before I dive in!
I'm so happy to hear that! I'd love to know what you make of it, Cindy! :)
@@BenjaminMcEvoy will let you know!
Amazing work, Benjamin! Learned a lot 🤞🏻
Aw, thank you so much! I'm so happy to hear that ☺️
Dorky book nerd happy dance 📚🤓💃🎉👏🏻
Just a few minutes in and your info about the hierarchies is already opening up new facets of the novel I’ve read so often. Wow. I’m already learning a lot. Thank you Benjamin! -Jess
I recently read Pride and Prejudice in manga form and Mr. Collins did not come off as that odious in that version for some reason. I have always felt Mrs. Bennett got a bad rap as her main job was to get her five daughters married off and it was a monumental job.
I completely agree, Petra! Definitely a monumental job, and one that she is very good at! As for Mr Collins, I've personally always sympathised with him quite a bit. I don't think he's too odious :)
I don't think Mrs. Bennet gets enough of a bad rap. She is an extremely selfish creature who always has to be the center of attention. She wants her daughters well married so they won't be thrown into the hedgerows but she works against her own goals and shows she really doesn't care about her daughters at all.
I'd love to see a video where you analyse the different translations of the Hans Christian Andersen's fairy tales and then say which is your favourite.
What a wonderful lecture 🙌 Feels very fortunate to have found your channel!
Aw, thank you so much, Ritu! I really appreciate that and am so grateful for you being here 🙏☺️
No, the navy did not have the same cachet as the army. You had to buy your way into the officer class in the army but not in the navy - it was more classless. A naval officer like Captain Wentworth was promoted through success at sea and if they captured an enemy ship they would divide the spoils among the crew. That was how Wentworth became rich. And Harvill's sister died before her man Benwick made his fortune so he was left heartbroken (until much later when he fell for Louisa Musgrove). I can still recall how heartbroken I was when having read all of her novels I realised she had only written 5. Too few sadly.
This video is incredible and came at just the right time as I finally decided to read Pride and Prejudice! Thanks so much, Ben - I can't wait to dive into it! 😊
Hi Ben, wow - that was such a passionate and informative lecture so beautifully edited with the images you add. I have been following along with the majority of your book recommendations since January 2023 when I reread War and Peace. I’m a little ahead of schedule this year, for fear of falling behind 😊 and yes I know it’s not a race. Pride and Prejudice is still very fresh in my mind and this video has shed a lot of light on the novel. The first extensive draft written at age 20! Characters drawn from real life. Different forms of narration to name but a few. Also your perceptive illumination of the novel’s cultural and historical context. Thanks again 🙏
This is my favorite classic novel. I read it every year beginning on New Year’s Day. The opening sentence causes me to laugh out loud every time.
Hello, Benjamin!😊
I hope you're well. I loved the video; I love Jane Austen and the way in which, through such everyday situations, she revolutionised literature and the way we understand the impact of irony and subtlety. I also love the way you express yourself, you're very clear and imaginative in the construction of your sentences, which makes (for the listener) an immersive experience.
In fact, I'm finally reading Moby Dick (your video helped me a lot) and I finished Oblómov a few days ago. You're right, great literature makes us great too.
Kisses from São Paulo, Brazil ❤
Thank you, thank you….your way of putting your knowledge over is wonderful.
Aw, thank you so much, Jane! That's so kind of you :)
Your videos are always so good!
Aw, thank you so much!! ☺️
Thanks for great video for book reading ideas and advice
Thank you so much, Mohammed! ☺
i came into this video kinda skeptical because it was just uploaded but it was so good!! im reading pride and prejudice for the first time and this really put it into a different perspective
27:23 You're right that "coming out" meant something different now than it did then, but as a queer person I just want to add that they are indeed related. Gay men of the 20th century had "coming outs" at gay bars (the first time they attended, that is) much like women of the 19th century did at balls. It was about introducing yourself to your local queer community. Then in the later half of the century, especially the 80s, there was a push to "come out of hiding/of the closet" to straight family members and friends as well. That was mostly a political thing, used to try and make straight people care about gay rights. And now it's a mix of political and personal expression, depending on who you ask.
Anyway, I'm very impressed with this video. I haven't seen anything from you before, but this showed up in my reccomended and I'm definitely going to have a look on your other videos, because this type of in-depth discussion is something I have been looking for for a while! I especially liked the point about character voices bleeding into the narration.
Like a lot of people, I despised Jane Austen the first time I read her and pretty much put down the book after the first chapter. Maybe it's a guy thing but I found it gooey. But I read it again with an open mind and the first thing that struck me was that its unbelievably easy to read and strikingly modern for a book that came out in 1813. But when the Mr Collins scenes came in, that was when I was fully sold on Austen because my lord, she is HILARIOUS. Honoured to share a birthday with her.
You had to get to Mr. Collins to realize how funny Austen can be? The whole first chapter is hilarious. One of the best first chapters in any book.
I have an English literature degree and I still leaned something new. Thank you. 🙏
I am in awe.
I don`t think I`ve ever listened to anybody who spoke as fluently as you.
Are you really human?
I agree!
Having being forced to read this book in year 7, in a country where english would not be your first language, was plain torture. Everyone in school knew Pride and Prejudice but for entirely different reasons. Safe to say most people despised it. But that's expected at an age when the only thing you maybe watch are mainstream films and tv shows, at least that's what we did. But this video has sparked an interest in me for this long forgotten novel and has provided me a different perspective, which isn't hostile. Thank you
Hello Ben! Another absolutely marvelous video! I just had a question totally unrelated that has been itching at me for the past while. I was wondering if you are planning on doing more Pynchon novels in the future? I understand that your priorities lie with hlbc and its schedule, but I would love to hear your opinions on his other works. Although Gravity's Rainbow is perhaps his most (or second most) recognized, I do believe he has better in his collection. Just thought I would ask out of personal interest. Regardless, love the work that you do and the insight you provide, and look forward to whatever you have in store for the rest of this year and years to come!
Thank you so much for your kind words, my friend. I really appreciate that :) It's so amazing that you ask that because I've been planning a podcast on The Crying of Lot 49. I'd definitely love to discuss more of Pynchon's works, like Mason & Dixon and V, in the future. I'd be very interested to hear which ones are your personal favourites!
fine, I'll go read it again, Mr. McEvoy🤭
This might be a strange question so I apologize if it's confusing, but how do you think Jane Austin would converse with Margaret Mitchell? I ask this because you often talk about having the great works of literature talk with one another during your readings, so I'm wondering how would Austin's "Pride and Prejudice" converse with Mitchell's "Gone with the Wind". Both books are similar in being about landowning families with strong heroines who, in their love lives, start out hating their true love but end up marrying them. However, Darcy and Elizabeth stay together while Rhett Butler leaves Scarlett. Both books discuss themes of economic and social classes, love, family relations, and feminism. However, "Pride and Prejudice" takes place at a time of peace while "Gone with The Wind" takes place during and after war. I haven't read any Austin yet so I was just curious what you would think. Love the video!
Ah, Austen’s have been shelved for much too long so this is encouraging! Nabokov changing his mind on women writers because of Austen is an amusing little anecdote.
Oh it's been less than two weeks that I satisfied my story-hunger with Pride & Prejudice! I wish I had started reading the book after watching this video, for maybe then I would have enjoyed the journey even more than what I did alone, on my own.
Thanks for this very good video - it's the best one I've seen on P&P.
Wow, thank you so much, Örn! I really appreciate that :)
So interesting and enjoyable--thank you so much!
Aw, thank you so much! I really appreciate that :)
My preference for Jane Austen novels:
Emma - Mr Knightley is lovely and nicer than Mr Darcy as he is warmer and will do anything for Emma. He's my favourite Austen hero.
Pride and Prejudice
Persuasion
Sense and Sensibility
Northagner Abbey
Mansfield Park
Great name. Hardcore .... I admire this lecture.
Thank you, Marilyn! ☺️
Loved P&P, enjoyed S&S and Emma; but I could not finish Mansfield Park, it was so dull. I wonder if many other Austen readers feel the same way about Mansfield Park?
Looking for your opinion
I have never read any Jane Austen.
I have seen the 95 pride and prejudice, but I have no knowledge of sense and sensibility.
For my first read of Jane, which do you recommend?
Asking everyone in hard-core literature, please.
I'd personally recommend Pride and Prejudice for your first one, John! But I would also love to hear what fellow readers would suggest :)
I know quite a few people who couldn't get into Jane Austen until they'd read either Emma or Persuasion
Pride and Prejudice was my first Austen book, and I am so glad it was. It swept me away like no other work; it just seemed magical.
If you have a moment, how would you read Mirrorshades: The Cyberpunk Anthology (1986) edited by Bruce Sterling
❤❤❤
❤🙏☺
I would like to provide a gift of a 1 year membership to Hardcore Literature for a friend but don't know how to contact you.
IMO, you must be in a slowed down mode to truly appreciate Jane Austin. Think weekend or vacation.
I love Jane Austen. She makes me want to get married, which says a lot in today's western society🤣🤣🤣
I LOVE Jane Austen. When I was in the Army, Austen swept me far away from my current situation and off to a different time and place. Thank you for this!
Jane Austen was apparently widely read by soldiers during WWI.
I'm so glad that Austen was able to offer you some comfort during such a traumatic time. Thank you so much for sharing this. As Qamar say, WWI soldiers would read the novels of Austen to escape from the horrors of the trenches. The Medical Corps would specifically recommend her books and stock them in hospital libraries for bibliotherapy. The term 'Janeites' also actually comes from a Kipling short story about a group of soldiers who are secret fans of Austen. He and his wife found solace in Austen when they tragically lost their son in the war. I hope you're keeping well and looking after yourself after your service 🙏
Have no words to describe the joy of listening to this talk
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I love this! And I love seeing a man appreciate Austen like this... I don't know, maybe it's just my luck but in the almost five years of me studying literature, I've never seen any of my male professors praise Austen for her work, it has always been the other way around. This made me really happy ❤
Aw, thank you so much, Ambreen!! I really appreciate that ☺️❤️
@@BenjaminMcEvoy 😊😊😊
Nothing would please me more than if you would do a six video series of her six novels. And maybe even cover the smaller unfinished ones. ❤ this video was lovely.
Yes please! 🙏😄
You’ve got my vote 🤚 ❤
Damn you, Mr Darcy, for being the fictitious character every woman wants!!
Fine! I'll read Pride and prejudice, again.
Every year I re-read Jane Austen's novels, and every year I feel like I’m having a slightly different conversation with her, it’s a feeling I can’t put into words but it’s quite unique.
I love Austen, and I love that you’ve come to love her works too!
Best teacher online
Aw, thank you so much, Noah. That's so kind of you 🙏☺️
THANK YOU! I recently dropped this book because I could not force myself to get interested in it but you could convince me to deeply appreciate the literary merit of “if you give a mouse a cookie” if you wanted to so I’m very glad you made this!
This is what I need-because I’m struggling with getting through the Novel-I just think it’s not for me. But I want to see what Austen can offer.
This is much needed -thanks Ben
At 13 yo I found Jane Austen as a guide to life. All of her heroines (apart from Catherine Moreland) have absent or incompetent parents and have to figure things out for themselves
Anyone who sees these merely as ‘love stories’ are missing the point
Thanks so much for these introductory videos. So valuable!
You're so welcome! Thank you so much for watching! ☺️🙏
Teacher! Brother Pisces! I have not watched this video, but I finished your Paradise Lost video this morning. It’s on my current Read Before Death list, and your video got me more than pumped to start it. There’s so much I wish to say to you with praise and inquiry. I will say I watched one of your Q&A’s this past week, and you offered an ostensibly off-the-cuff reading order for Austen initiates, and your first title was EMMA, so I’ve concluded to start with that one.
Short story long…
Among other things, I’ve have been quite sporadically tackling the Bradbury Reading Assignment, and I reread Hazlitt’s essay “The Pleasure of Hating”. It might as well have been my first reading because I was outflanked by the last three paragraphs and almost overwhelmed by the DESPAIR of hating by the essay’s end.
Teacher (and anyone), is there an essay that’s the complete OPPOSITE of this one that you could recommend as an antidote?
Best Wishes and Thank You! Just, Thank You!
Haedyn
Thinking now about Mr. Collins and the violence of his affection.
😂😂😂
After reading The Other Bennet Sister by Janice Hadlow, I see him in a different light . Although that dinner scene where he remarks on the excellent boiled potatoes can never be forgotten 😂
I have never read a Jane Austen book and feel it's time! This video has given me the energy I need to begin! One is never too old to learn to appreciate a new genre of literature! Thank you!
I'm so thrilled to hear that, Stacey!! I'd love to know what you make of your first Austen! 😊
Mate, Benjamin - this was an outstanding lecture.
Thank you so much, my friend. I really appreciate that :)
I had to read this in high school overnight after partying. I read it straight through, got an hour of sleep, then went to class and wrote a decent essay. It was fun, even exhilarating. Read it subsequently in college, but that first read was much more fun.
Wow.... :)
I so glad I found this although I’m late to the party. This lecture was brilliant and I signed up to Patreon! Thank you for sharing ❤️
Aw, thank you so much, Nancy!! I'm so thrilled you're joining the reading journey with us and am so excited to hear what you make of these great books! ☺️🙏
My first introduction to Pride and Prejudice was when I was 8. The 1995 version was on TV for the second time and I was recovering from major surgery (hip operation). I didn't fully understand the story at the time but I loved the costumes, locations, actors, etc. I read the novel in my late teens and loved it. I love the Bennet family and I think Mr Darcy is rude but maybe is uncomfortable in different social circles. I highly recommend the audiobook read by Lindsey Duncan, she has a wonderful voice. I think Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle are the perfect Darcy and Elizabeth! Emma is my favourite Jane Austen novel closely followed by Pride and Prejudice. I just feel that Mr Knightley is warmer than Mr Darcy. Thanks for the video Ben and giving me an opportunity to talk about Jane Austen. I own the folio society edition, the illustrations are beautiful. X
PREACH! You are the best at this. I’ve fallen in love with Jane Austen all over again ❤
Wow! My new favorite Hardcore Lit video! I wish I’d had this lesson back in the day. Here we go. Yet another book to reread. Thanks Ben!
Thank you so much, Guillermo!! I really appreciate that ☺️
Thank you 🎉 for this wonderful introductory lecture to Jane Austen ‘s Pride and Prejudice which covers everything one needs to know about her ,the times she lived in and the rise of the novel. Really looking forward to the rest of the Austen series. And everybody ´s comments. 🎉
Another wonderful video Benjamin! Although I don’t consider myself nearly well-read enough to swim in the pool with you and your readers in the Hardcore Literature club, I do very much enjoy anything you have to say. I loved your video about Whitman so much! You amaze me. Thanks for your hard work here! ❤
Thank you so much!! That is so lovely of you! I really appreciate you enjoying these great writers with me ☺️❤️
What a coincidence, I started Pride and Prejudice a few days ago after watching your How to Read Jane Austen video! I had trouble acclimating to the environment and characters through the first hundred pages or so, but now im very immersed in the novel!
Yeeeeey new Benjamin wisdom!! 🤩🤩🤩 The day just got infinitely better!! 🥳🥳🥳🥳💃💃😁
Thank you for this lovely video, Ben. My husband - otherwise an enthusiastic and ambitious reader - can’t stand Austen. Although he says he feels like giving her another go - hope he will go for Persuasion (my favourite) and then we can watch the Ciarán Hinds / Amanda Root tv adaptation afterwards. Fingers crossed!
The 1st time that I attempted to read Pride and Prejudice I was too busy and too distracted to make it past the 1st few pages. Later, when a job took me a 1000 miles away from friends, family and distractions, I picked it up because I was lonely and bored, As in Ausen's England, I had no television and no radio, so it seemed like my life was a good match. Up until then, I was unhappy to be bored and lonely. After reading the book, I was still lonely but no longer unhappy. And have gratefully read it several times in the intervening years.
This was so interesting, I've learned a lot! Thank you for your wonderful videos.
Thank you so much, Marija! I really appreciate that :)
Wonderful introduction to Austen. Compared to other Austen works, there's a great deal of activity in P&P.. So, many wonderful characters. While my favorite novel of hers is Persuasion, this is understandably her most influential work.
When will you decontruct Persuasion ??!! I loved your P&P video.
Thank you so much, Chaitra! We actually have a whole lecture series for Persuasion at the book club :)
53.00 In the 1995 adaptation, the one with Jennifer Ehle in it (71 yr old male here), Lizzie does indeed say it the sense of irony that Austen uses.
Dr Octavia Cox has some interesting videos about Jane Austen novels, including breakdown of class distinctions, which actually added a lot of context to an area that is less intuitively understood nowadays. Once you realise who is being snobby, who is overcompensating (ahem, ahem, Caroline, ahem, and Mr Collins) and who is less snobby than expected (Darcy) it makes for much more interesting interactions.
Just recently completed pride and prejudice, i had started months ago but felt it was a little difficult as english is my second language.. But this video inspired me to read the book and now i am done... I loved the book❤❤
Wow!! Congratulations on reading and finishing Pride and Prejudice! It's very impressive that you read the book in the original English. I'm so happy you loved it, Mahima! 🥰
I recently re-read it with Regnum Umbrae music on the background, and I have to say, it was a totally different experience!
That is such a cool idea - I'm totally going to try that myself :)
One of the funniest things that I have read. Jane Austen is so insightful about human nature. I love the characters.
I completely agree, Dylan! :)
Ok, now I have to read it again. 😂 Pride and Prejudice is the book that started my journey of falling in love with classic literature. I first read it at about 15 years old. I was homeschooled starting at 12 years of age, and as an American without much previous exposure to the classics, I was so excited to get the chance to read this particular novel when it came up in the curriculum we were considering. I couldn’t wait to get to it, and was not disappointed. Due in part to the fact that, luckily, I had never seen an adaptation or heard much of the story, other than the names “Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth Bennet”, and the fact that they didn’t like each other much at first, I was transfixed and enraptured. The story was so gripping, and the people so fascinating; this novel showed me that classics were not boring! Along with Oliver Twist, another book on the curriculum, it proved how delightfully hilarious classics could be! For some reason, I had been under the impression that classics, while interesting, were probably not very humorous. I was so delighted to find that I was mistaken, as I dearly love to laugh. 😉 I have since read it one other time, about two years ago. I am now so excited to read through it again, with the fresh insights which you have shared here. I have read all of Jane Austen’s novels but one, Mansfield Park, but so far, P&P is still my favorite of her works. It will always have a very special place in my heart. Thank you for sharing all of this!
You had me at ”how to read”
This was wonderful! It's always such a pleasure to find content that you enjoy watching and reading as much, or more than the book itself. Thank you for making such a thoroughly enriching and rewarding video to watch. I consider my time very well spent.
Aw, thank you so much, Emma! You have completely made my day ☺️🙏
For anyone wanting to watch a shorter televised version other than the excellent 1995 series, I can highly recommend the 1980 TV series starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. Although a little staged by modern standards, it's very closely adapted to the book. In my opinion Elizabeth Garvie gives the the most authentic performance of Elizabeth Bennet ever brought to the screen. The script also closely follows the dialogue.