28 January 2013. The Life of Jane
Pride & Prejudice, possibly the most famous novel in the whole world, was born 200 years ago today. In a letter to her sister Cassandra, Jane Austen calls it her 'darling child'.
Intriguingly, by this time the child was practically grown up! We know that Jane started writing it in 1796, when she was 20, and completed it the following year. Her father wrote to London publisher Cadell and suggested he might like to read the manuscript, but this offer was turned down by return of post.
Jane seems to have worked on the novel again only after Sense & Sensibility was published in 1811, by another publisher, Egerton. She 'lop't and crop't' the manuscript and the result is the sparkling comedy romance we know and love.
Happy 200th Birthday, Pride & Prejudice!