According to Cassandra Austen,
Pride and Prejudicewas the last mature novel to be a re-working of an earlier, probably epistolary, work, titled
First Impressions. Written in 1796-97, when Jane Austen was beginning to receive the attentions of an assortment of young men and her sister had just become engaged,
First Impressionswas an instant success with the Austens. The father offered it to a publisher on its completion in 1797, but it was rejected without a reading and has subsequently been lost. Its more mature avatar was completed in 1811-12, after the first successful submission of one of Austen’s novels, and signed “by the Author of
Sense and Sensibility”. It went through two editions in the year of its first publication, 1813, and was received with public acclaim, garnering…
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Citation: Schneider, Ana-Karina. "Pride and Prejudice". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 19 January 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=2575, accessed 21 November 2024.]