Pride and Prejudice (Jane Austen Children’s Stories #1) by Jane Austen adapted by Gemma Barder
It was time to shop for a Christmas gift for my friend’s daughter, and I always give her a book.
I didn’t even have to think about it as I knew the perfect one: another book from the Jane Austen Children’s Stories.
As I mentioned in my previous review, any time I spot a children’s book that has to do with Jane Austen, I try and purchase it to gift to kids in my life and hopefully brainwash spark a love of Jane Austen in them.
The Jane Austen Children’s Stories series takes the text of Jane Austen and adapts it for children who are reading on their own and want something longer than a beginning reader, but not quite ready for thick chapter books. Each novel has easy to read text, illustrations, but at the same time still retain the plot of the original novels.
The recommended age for this series is 7-10 years old. The series has adapted Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, Persuasion, and Love and Friendship. You can buy them individually at ~$7 a paperback (hardcover is ~$12 per book) or in a set of all seven in paperback form (plus a journal) for ~$17.
The story of Pride and Prejudice is about a mother, Mrs. Bennet, wanting to marry off her daughters as quickly as possible, as when their father passes away they will have very little to live on (her husband is not I’ll but Mrs. Bennet doesn’t want to take any chances.) Two men move to their community that Mrs. Bennet is intent on harpooning, no matter what. One, Mr. Bingley, falls for the elder daughter, Jane, while the other man, Mr. Darcy, is overheard insulting the second daughter, Elizabeth, by Elizabeth herself. (Ouch!) Elizabeth is wounded and when she hears a tale about how horrible Mr. Darcy is from a handsome charming man, she readily believes it. She later discovers there is more to all these men than meets the eye and that she may have judged them too quickly.
Like Emma, this book starts off with a breakdown of the characters, a who’s who of everyone.
We then get into the story which is done very well. I was curious how they would deal with the Georgiana/Mr. Wickham but they still have it, focusing on him wanting her money over anything else which to me was a very good choice to make.
I thought it was a very good abridged adaption for children. And I’m eager to see what the remaining Austen books are like.
I do think the illustrator was influenced by the 2005 film adaptions as Mr. Darcy looks like Matthew Macfayden and Mr. Bingley looks like Simon Wood.
For more Jane Austen Children’s Stories, go to Emma
For more Jane Austen children’s books, go to Northanger Abbey
For more on Pride and Prejudice book adaptations, go to An Appearance of Goodness
For more on Pride and Prejudice , go to The Clergyman’s Wife + The Question is Mr. Collins Really THAT Bad?
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