Pride and Prejudice was published by T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall, London, on 28 January 1813, in three volumes, priced at 18s. The author was identified only as “the Author of ‘Sense and Sensibility’” — Austen published all her novels anonymously during her lifetime. The first edition consisted of approximately 1,500 copies and sold well enough to warrant a second edition later that year. Austen received £110 for the copyright — she had initially offered an earlier version of the novel (First Impressions) to a publisher in 1797, who refused it sight unseen.
The Novel
Pride and Prejudice follows the five Bennet sisters — particularly Elizabeth, the second eldest — as their mother schemes to marry them to men of fortune in the Regency period. The central relationship between Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy is one of the great courtship narratives in literature: she misjudges him as proud; he misjudges her family as beneath him; both must overcome their “pride” and “prejudice” before recognising their mutual worth.
Austen’s genius lies not in the plot (which is conventional) but in the voice: ironic, precise, devastating in its social observation, and possessed of a moral intelligence that sees through every pretension without ever becoming cruel. The novel’s opening sentence — “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife” — establishes in fourteen words the gap between social convention and individual truth that the entire novel will explore.
Elizabeth Bennet is Austen’s most fully realised heroine — intelligent, witty, morally courageous, and capable of growth. Her initial rejection of Darcy (after his insulting first proposal) and her subsequent recognition that she was wrong (after his letter explaining Wickham’s true character) constitute one of the great moral pivots in fiction: the movement from self-satisfied intelligence to genuine self-knowledge.
Publication History
Austen wrote the novel’s first draft (First Impressions) in 1796–97, when she was twenty-one. Her father offered it to the publisher Thomas Cadell, who rejected it unread. She revised it substantially between 1811 and 1812 before selling it to Egerton. The revision was clearly extensive — the novel as published shows a maturity and technical control absent from the juvenilia.
The first edition’s three-volume format was standard for novels of the period. The books were expensive (18s was approximately a week’s wages for a skilled artisan) and were primarily circulated through lending libraries rather than purchased for private collections.
Collecting Pride and Prejudice
First edition (1813, T. Egerton, London): Approximately 1,500 copies in three volumes, priced at 18s.
Identification points:
- Published by T. Egerton, Military Library, Whitehall
- Three volumes, uncut in original boards
- “By the Author of ‘Sense and Sensibility’” on title pages
- No author name
First edition:
- Complete three-volume set in original boards: $100,000–$300,000+
- Rebound but complete: $30,000–$80,000
- Individual volumes: $10,000–$30,000
Complete copies in original boards are among the rarest items in English literature — possibly fewer than a dozen survive. Most first edition copies were read to pieces in circulating libraries and discarded. The novel’s supreme canonical status, combined with extreme scarcity, makes this one of the most valuable collectible books in existence.
Signed copies: Non-existent. Austen published anonymously and never signed her novels.
Value trajectory (2016–2026): When copies appear at auction (rarely), they achieve record prices. A complete first edition in boards sold for $233,100 in 2014. Appreciation is difficult to track given the extreme rarity and infrequent appearance at auction, but the trend is sharply upward.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is this so expensive? The combination of supreme canonical status (arguably the most beloved English novel), extreme rarity (approximately 1,500 copies printed over 210 years ago, most destroyed through use), and universal demand (from private collectors, institutions, and national libraries worldwide).
Is this Austen’s best novel? Literary critics tend to prefer Emma or Persuasion for their greater complexity and emotional depth. But Pride and Prejudice remains the most widely loved — its combination of wit, romance, and moral intelligence is unmatched in English fiction.
Why did Austen publish anonymously? Female authorship was not scandalous in the Regency period, but it was considered slightly improper for a gentlewoman. Austen’s anonymity was an open secret — her family and friends knew, and “the Author of ‘Pride and Prejudice’” became a known identity within literary circles.