50.5 Five tips for reading Pride and Prejudice (or any Austen novel)

We’re sharing our top five tips for reading Jane Austen’s novels with you, whether you’re a frequent re-reader or new to her work. Today’s episode is meant to help you get the most out of any Austen novel, but we hope you’ll read Pride and Prejudice with us this month! To celebrate one year of podcasting and the launch of our new Patreon community, we’re enjoying all things Austen for the whole month of March with discussion episodes and a bunch of bonus content (available for our Classics Club members on Patreon). To sign up, go to patreon.com/novelpairings and listen in to hear about our plans for the Classics Club this month. 

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March 9th Episode: Part One (we’ll discuss Chapter 1-34 or Volume I-Volume II, Chapter 11)

March 23rd Episode: Part Two (we’ll discuss the rest of the book and share our pairings)

 

1. Listen to the audiobook

Amazon: Rosamund Pike

Libro.fm: Kate Redding, Emilia Fox, Elizabeth Klett and Karen Savage

 

2. Research some Regency customs

Sparknotes context

Historical context

The Georgian Era

(and more in our upcoming Patreon class!)

 

3. Investigate Jane Austen’s writing style

Free indirect discourse

Austen’s voice

Austen Said

Irony and Elizabeth Bennett

 

4. Use Sparknotes, LitCharts, or Schmoop

 

5. Watch a film adaptation

Our favorite: 1995 BBC series on Hulu

Most popular: 2005 film on Peacock or Amazon Prime

Throwback: 1980 film on Amazon Prime