In our fast-paced world, it’s tough to make reading a priority. At least it used to be. At Thinkr.org, they summarize the key ideas from new and noteworthy nonfiction, giving you access to an entire library of great books in bite-size form. Read or listen to hundreds of titles in a matter of minutes: start your free trial today at Thinkr.org
Jane Austen, as well as many other classics, are also available on RU-vid courtesy of the Librivox project. For those who can’t afford a subscription service it’s worth knowing about. There’s also lots of eAudiobooks available through libraries via the free Overdrive app.
I could re read Jane Austin’s novels a hundred times and still enjoy them each time. So beautifully written, the words are poetic and thought provoking.
I've reread all of Austen's books so many times I can't keep track. I love that Knowles gave this book a chance. Make sure you read her others as well, because they are fantastic. Gosh I just love Austen so much!!!
Don't, but do read 'Wuthering Heights' again instead. You probably didn't get it the first time, and you probably saw that execrable 1939 Sam Goldwyn movie, but it's a great work of literature, while Jane Austen wrote only great novels.
Great review Michael. I think "Pride" nicely showcases Jane Austen's humor, her grasp of human nature and the uneasy, social tightrope people in general, and particularly women, had to traverse in Georgian England. This, however, is my second favorite of JA's works. Although "Sense and Sensibility" (my favorite) moves too slow for most people, I find the depth Jane built into the characters and how they respond to each other, their circumstances and opportunities pull me into the story until I feel I know the Dashwood sisters and the whole cast of eccentrics which Jane used to embellish the story. If you haven't yet, you should give this one a read too.
_As I’m listening to this interview I realized that I’ve never - ever READ Pride & Prejudice. I have repeatedly enjoyed four or five adaptations over the past 40 years and it long ago became one of my favorites, renewed by Wright’s 2005 film. I know so much about the book through films, that I thought this interview wouldn’t provide any new information for me - I was wrong_
MaryMag & Martha This 54 year old man’s favorite version is the audiobook, where you get to hear Jane Austen in her own words. Spotify has a very good production in their spoken word section, under “Audio Books”.
I have read the book and really enjoyed it, but I prefer the film versions to the book itself (I know, I am a barbarous Philistine). The 1995 TV series of Pride and Prejudice is the greatest version of this book ever. I didn't like the choice of Susannah Harker as Jane Bennet and Alison Steadman's histrionic Mrs Bennet is not to my taste, but that aside, this series is perfection. And of course, Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Darcy are the benchmark for all others. The 2005 film with Keira Knightly comes a very close second; the beautiful Rosamund Pike was perfect as Jane Bennet and the music and cinematography are out of this world. Having said all that, it is well worth reading the book (and essential) to appreciate the language (and spelling) as it was used at the time. It also shows how much closer and faithful the BBC version was to the original writing than other versions were
I did not like very much the movie. Lizzie would have never showed up to Darcy in her PJ´s . I think the BBC TV series is much better, the actress that plays Elizabeth is great, it is just how I imagine her. Kind of chubby, with a beautiful smile and shinning eyes.
As a longtime Jane Austen fan, I throughly enjoyed this analysis of P&P. So to the point and how profound the book really is and the reasons why it’s one of the most beloved works. Thanks for bringing this to people who otherwise never consider reading Austen.
A book I have read about 10 times not counting the times I've seen the 1995 BBC series, the Keira Knightly's movie, and the countless of other movies based or about this novel. I love this novel! Everyone should read it. It is not a women's novel. This is a human novel, showing a snapshot of Britain's gentry society of that era. Its definitely Jane Austen's best work. I actually read this novel for the first time in 2003 in a text file I found on the web. I fell in love with the story. I had seen 1995's movie Sense and Sensibility and Emma, but never really got into Jane Austen's novels. After reading P&P I have read every novel.
Great job. I'm a Male approaching 60 who has never been interested in Jane Austen and has spent his life focused on "male" pursuits (police and military service). I just purchased a copy from Amazon.
I had to quickly finish it before watching this, and it really was a great book. My favorite character was the dad; so reserved but funny and reasonable.
I love the way y'all presented the rich depth of this book in such a way as to entice people who disliked it when force fed it in high school to give it another go because it's one of the best novels of all time and one of my personal favorites. Well done!
I read this book with my students and most of them end up loving it. I also share this video with my class because it offers great insight and opens up discussions for our classroom.
Downloaded the book on my Kindle when I went on vacation to Turkey some years ago. Thought I'd use the book as night cap to go to sleep cause as a bloke who was forced to look at the BBC series as a teenager, didn't think it would be much of a read. Ended up reading the book in 8 days.
I'm not bragging or ashamed to say "I'll will never understand the psyche of the female". But that's ok because I trust that God doesn't make mistakes.
In a disagreement, when they get excited and they start waving their arms, weigh the importance of whatever caused the display. If it makes no real difference, and boils down to their preference, say "Yes, dear" and let it go. Applies to both parties. This is the most important lesson I learned the hard way, and the only one I'm sure of. 😉✌️
'I trust that God doesn't make mistakes. ' Humans have free will to choose their actions, holding that God, while knowing their actions before they happen, does not affect the outcome.
@Templar - While boys know nothing outside of sports, porn & video games & can't even hold a basic conversation about the goings on of the real world...
This book also takes place in England before Multiculturalism, before mass migration. Showing actual British people, living their own culture, their own British life.
Maybe, by talking about old books, PragerU can re-ignite a passion for those cultural icons which, form us and, form our cultural souls. Much unstated here, but to fully develop would require a semester course in human nature and, how it plays out in a sinful world.
@Bill Rodgers Come on! You need to be more direct and forceful. What you really mean is... Oh how ridiculous! If that is what you really mean? Why don't you have the courage to say It? Any real stand, takes courage.
That was a really interesting, intelligent, and enjoyable discussion (not to mention how sexy Abigail Shrier is). I have read the book and really enjoyed it, but I prefer the film versions to the book itself (I know, I am a barbarous Philistine). The 1995 TV series of Pride and Prejudice is the greatest version of this book ever. I didn't like the choice of Susannah Harker as Jane Bennet and Alison Steadman's histrionic Mrs Bennet is not to my taste, but that aside, this series is perfection. And of course, Jennifer Ehle as Elizabeth Bennet and Colin Firth as Darcy are the benchmark for all others. The 2005 film with Keira Knightly comes a very close second; the beautiful Rosamund Pike was perfect as Jane Bennet and the music and cinematography are out of this world. Having said all that, it is well worth reading the book (and essential) to appreciate the language (and spelling) as it was used at the time. It also shows how much closer and faithful the BBC version was to the original writing than other versions were.
I was first exposed to the novel through a movie adaptation where my then-wife, an English major, helped me to appreciate it better. Then after my divorce, I read it on my Kindle (where I could easily look up the archaic words) and enjoyed it immensely.
@@Aemery55 Agree, Elizabeth disputing Darcy's interpretation of Jane's feelings towards Bingley when Darcy first proposed and then the softened manner Elizabeth has when she meets Darcy for at Pemberley is why he pursued her again and told Bingley he was wrong about Jane.
I really appreciate the discussion about this book. It is brilliantly, craftily written. I have read all Austen’s books and I don’t particularly like any of them on a ‘story’ level. As an accomplished author, she captures the catty, frivolous, and vindictive nature of women to a T. She does that so well, that I don’t enjoy the subject matter; however, I love and respect the writing. The snapshot of choice and relationships that Austen painted, are timeless in that her take on people applied then, it applies now, and it will continue to haunt 9th graders into the future, who groan over its reading…still, it can’t be denied that this writing is packed with truth. Truth is good for us, even if it reveals itself through tedious cousins, gossiping neighbors, and discontent in one’s own self to the repentance and renewal. At least it ends well 😉
I've read it 5 or 6 times, possibly more, have an annotated copy. Going through it again recently for fun..... I'm also a man. My wife gets to enjoy it with me :D
Love can often be found on arrange marriage... as ironic it may seem? But it often negate in having a great expectation from your partner to be manifest but more likely than not, they will try to build something to from ground up while trying to know the person next them genuinely and work out a plan that is functional for them! Often where you can find the precursor of a good relationship... ended up as friends. And love will spring up naturally for trying to be best for each other! Than start off from the whiff of infatuation that one is need to be serve and one wanting to serve without being reciprocated proper counterbalance that drive both insane for having do much one thing and almost nothing to contrast a palatable blend!
I got through 3/4 of Pride and Prejudice. I felt like I was a fly on the wall of the most sophisticated version of a tea party attended by a bunch of old women who only discussed the trivial drama in their small neighborhood. Like if William F. Buckley had produced The View.
Well ..didn’t read the book…but the movie version with Keira Knightly..finds its way on to our viewing menu….possibly 6 times a year. It’s the beautiful production accompanied by a gorgeous musical score…that makes it a complete package. Really like this discussion by the way!
I've seen some previews of this Keira movie. It's a far cry. I just can't see Keira equal to the Elizabeth that comes through from the reading. Nor Darcy. And I found other falsehoods even in those short glimpses that I did watch. JA has silences, landscapes, feelings that cannot be expressed by any impersonation. Cinema is inferior to literature. Only films made to their own scripts can stand. Turning a strong book into a film can only fail.
@@williammkydde well this is where we get to a point where all becomes subjective…including the medium. My daughter just graduated with her bachelor’s in English Literature on her way to a teaching designation…and I was involved in a discussion of a few dozen term papers along the way. The fact was that marking and interpretation was much too subjective based on a professors specific preferences…compared to degrees in sciences. Cinematography is an art form as is good acting. To discount these would be like refusing to look at a Van Gogh..or Jackson Pollock and always only insisting the neo-classical artwork is the only art form worthy of our attention. What you see and interpret in your minds eye as it pertains to JA’s works…may be completely different from mine or someone else’s. The director of this movie also clearly read the work, and replicated this interpretation on film. The movie is delightful and loved by literally millions…what’s wrong with that? Remember, we are not all purists!
@@zeroceiling I agree with most of what you've just said. And for sure judgments on art are subjective. Although cinema is an art in its own right, one caveat arises, when this art clashes with literature. The media are too different. A writer - especially one like JA - writes down his/her soul, in solitude, often irrespective of any eventual financial gain or glory. A film maker, however, must pay off the costs, the wages, and bring in some profit. It must be "sexy" and opportunistic. (Hence the presence of star Keira with her slutty gazes.) A film is a team work. And the product is easy to consume: just sit down and watch; every piece of that lunch has already been pre-chewed for you, nothing left for imagination. Reading is hard work for attention and imagination, the knowledge of language and history are also required. For most people who will have watched a film, THIS will be their Jane Austen, and very few will actually go on to read the book. This is what makes the film so insidious: it assumes the same title, while belying its contents, and for most spectators this will be the first and the last of what they think about JA. It may be smartly cooked as a film, if you forget that it has any connection to the book. Kind of, JA lite, a digest for shallow-mellow contemporary viewers by a director who, probably, did not read it properly either - who has the time?
loved the conservation ;0 and Mike you are the coolest kid I know, well next to Shapiro, and maybe my Niece Tasha. ok, ok, you are one of the coolest kids I know. ;0 #Respect
Some very disputable points are being made here. 16:43 "Darcy - if he exists - would never marry her today". This is a major nonsense. What do you mean by "if he exists"? If you mean the ideal "dream man", then yes, he would marry her, bc he loves her and he's a family-positive gentleman. This proves that, even 200 years later, women still don't understand men - maybe even less. "He would just string her on forever" - this is even a worse misconception. She is a marriage material; every sensible man knows one when he sees one. SHE is more of a problem: while he loves her almost from the beginning, she falls in love first with his house and his estate, and later she realizes how much he's done for her hapless family for her sake only. I am not even sure she loves him at the happy end of the novel. Jane Austen tells here more truth than she had intended to. Elizabeth is more dangerous for Darcy and less reliable than the other way out.
Jane Austin is a brilliant and astute observer of the human condition, and a very great writer, but in no way compares in insight, intellect and compassion to Mary Ann Evans (George Eliot) who was born a mere 45 years after her (1819 vs. 1775). It saddens me that women do not celebrate George Eliot more. In every respect she was either equally or more accomplished IMO.
One of my Standards! I keep a copy on my old Walkman, always ready to save me from the horrors of boredom when travelling or when the internet is down. Fav. version: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-Ef3TSkQxBIM.html
I disagree with her point that bits of reality slipped into fiction make fiction something other than what it is, by name. You have fiction, or you have reality. The better writers are able to mix and intertwine them, similar to medicine in a syrup base. Also, men naming their wives as their best friend is more of a testament to womens' social expectations, than womens' friendship skills. If we were allowed to have the time to cultivate our best relationship with another man, most would be condemned and constantly nagged or run down behind their back about how they "don't spend enough time with me" by their wives. The claim alone that anyone beside their wife would be their best friend is, in most cases, enough to bring serious repercussions and even contempt.
I do realize I have asked candace for countless apologies AND I have received them, essentially, while pretending I hadn't. "CUZ THEY WEREN'T GOOD ENUFF!!!" Hahahhahaha Am I the girl in this relationship? God I hope not. Harry's kinda the girl #vomit I hope not
For all the time that we spend teaching women how to be more like Eliza, it might be better spent teaching men how to be LESS like Wickham. These individuals are right in their assertions that the journey Elizabeth undergoes is a valuable lesson to the female audience, but to sum it all up as "ladies, protect your poor virtue" is to excuse the ongoing issue of MEN causing trouble to begin with. Wickham's manipulation of Lydia was never Lydia's own fault (although she certainly made it easy and I dislike her too much to defend her character). Who is the one actively hurting people? Lydia is the victim; not the perpetrator. These two individuals completely missed the virtue in feminism while talking for 20 minutes about the virtue of self preservation, it's almost as ironic as the book itself to watch this conversation. I didn't expect any revolutionary pro-woman discussion from this video but to so blatantly reduce women and misrepresent feminism is disgusting. "Some women like conservative values" is more than acceptable to the feminist narrative.
Definition of rotten: “teach boys” end up with “boys hate”. You can all day speculate how important something is, but at the end society loses when majority of the men are MGTOWs. Then government imports men an Christian values are thrown away. Have we found a perfect recipe for civilization demise? Demotivate boys more every day.
@@yashamanning4712 MGTOW is short for Men Going Their Own Way. It's pretty much the male version of feminism except it's different. A google search will give you an idea what they believe.
The reason men say " their wife " when asked who their best friend is, is either because she has isolated him from having friends by manipulation and emotional blackmail, or he has to say her, knowing he'll have to pay a price if she hears that he said someone else.
This is seen by women as a great romance strory, just as Titanic is. However seen from a man's perspective it is horror story. All young men must read this book as it reveals women's way of thinking about men. If you don't agree with me you are wrong You are there to provide resourves for me You will save me if I go off the rails I think with my heart not my brain I deserve to be loved even though I rejected you once Correction: Elizabeth doesn't save the family, Darcy does. But you won't get a woman to admit this, just as much as Darcy is ridiculed by acting on his logical decisions to distance himself from this avaricious family of women. Although commented on as being comedic, the opening sentence of this book is the blue print of how ALL women think. The danger lies in the word 'must'. The 19th century society is very different to today. The Bennet family of girls today: Jane - would have made Bingley's life hell as she had been ghosted on the advice of Darcy, taking revenge on Bingley if they got married. Elizabeth - would have remained single and been the spinster aunt. Mary - would have attended college and probably read a uselss subject like gender studies as a major. Catherine - would have ended up with multiple children living on welfare. Lydia - would also be a camp follower with multiple children from different fathers. Although women hate to hear it, society then was devised to protect women, not from men, but from themselves. Today every woman is a Lydia, and it is daddy government that comes to the rescue, not Captain Save a Ho.
When I subscribed to this channel, it was for the Prager videos that are all appropriately 5 minutes long. I don’t care about Candace Owens (nothing against her) or any other individual and I surely am not interested in this dumb “Pride and Prejudice” book! In fact, I read a lot, just not this type of content. The point I want to make is this... Make a separate channel for this type of content which is much different and it just might create more subscribers for both channels.
So it's a great book from 120 years ago. Great insight into how people thought 120 years ago. But...that's all. Nothing can be "learnt" from this book that cannot also be learnt by reading some philosophy or the Bible...
The reason Jane Austen's work endures is her incredible insight into and analysis of human nature, which doesn't change no matter the time period. As someone who was single her entire life, her observational skills and analysis were amazing.
Romans8girl But single women typically seek husbands. Also Jane Austen was surrounded by couples and because she was single she often had no choice but to sit back and *observe.*
@@donoimdono4868 it's not to say they your spouse shouldn't be your friend, but that your spouse shouldn't be your *everything*. People need to have a variety of relationships and not put all their needs into one person.
