Beschreibung:

AUSTEN, JANE Pride and Prejudice: a Novel in three volumes By the Author of "Sense and Sensibility" London: Printed for T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, 1813. First edition. Three volumes in early boards, recently rebacked to style in dark brown leather, black spine labels. 6 5/8 x 4 inches (17 x 10 cm); [2], 307, [1] pp.; [2], 239, [1] pp.; [1], 323, [1] pp. Lacking half-titles. Professionally rebacked to style, retaining the original boards, with board corners discreetly repaired. Several leaves with marginal fraying unobtrusively restored with tissue, washed (but not bleached), the restoration performed by The Stonehouse Bindery. The Hirsel Library-Oliver Brett copy, with booklabels and bookplates. "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife." This is one of Austen's best-loved novels, and indeed one of the great novels in the Western canon. Under the working title of First Impressions, it was written between October 1796 and August 1797, and it was extensively revised between 1811 and 1812. The earlier version, when submitted to Thomas Cadell, was rejected for publication out of hand, perhaps in part because the heroine Elizabeth Bennet is such a surprisingly unconventional figure. Austen's first novel, Sense and Sensibility, was published on a commission basis, with the author advancing the money for publication, but (not yet knowing that her first novel would be a success), the copyright of Pride and Prejudice was sold to Egerton for 110 pounds. This was an investment which bore fruit for the publisher, if not for the author. When finally published, the book was generally very well received, with no less a critic than Sir Walter Scott remarking that he had read the book at least three times. Keynes 3; Sadleir 62b; Tinker 204; Gibson A3. C Estate of Frances "Peggy" Brooks