Haven Squire’s Reviews > Pride and Prejudice > Status Update

Austen really is a one with including letters as well, oh the proposal letter!! Some of my favourite quotes are these: 'Elizabeth could not help observing...how frequently Mr Darcy's eyes were fixed on her,' 'Darcy had never been so bewitched by any woman as he was by her,' 'you must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you,' 'I was in the middle before I knew that I had begun.'

I also found that Austen often wrote about things that I was actually experiencing or could really relate to - like it was as if she was putting really tiny experiences or feelings of mine into words. It is crazy how I can relate even though it was written well over 200 years ago. I really really loved Lizzy and her relationship with Jane was particularly special, their mother was also really funny with her nerves.

Paying off the debts and things of Wickham who he disliked just so that the girl he was in love with (who to his knowledge hated him) wouldn't have a sister who was a disgrace to the family. That made it sad when the rest of the family were hating on him and didn't know about what they had done but satisfying when they found out.

I was actually quite surprised with how much of the book was focusing on other characters and not their romance (whether it be Lydia and Wickham or Bingley and Jane) - I also couldn't read Wickham without thinking of how Matthew Macfayden says it in the movie (rather aggressively). Also, I mean Darcy the man that you are!

The long walks they went on just talking and getting to know each other and realising that they really did love each other. I just totally flew through the last 30 pages or so and thought it was great how them getting together really was left right up until the end. I mean I would have adored seeing them happily married and all but then that isn't exactly Austen's style.

Jane Austen really knew how to do a slow burn enemies to lovers, my god! I mean there were some fabulous lines of them just looking at each other and the contemplation of what their feelings for the other were. They also so clearly disliked each other at the beginning, there was none of that fake enemies it actually made sense. It also was so fabulous when they got together though.

This took me a very long time to finish as I started it before uni and then got sidetracked by all my uni reads. I actually really loved it though. I decided to read it after watching the film and that definitely helped me picture it and also understand what was happening. I also found it interesting how I was able to understand the language better after a year of reading older texts at uni than before.