A Novel
Before Pride and Prejudice
The story of the Bennet family in the years before Austen's beloved novel begins.
Longbourn, Hertfordshire
"What if we could go back to the beginning—before the wit, before the weddings, before the first line Austen ever wrote?"
— John L. Stone
About the Book
We know the Bennets as Austen left them—five daughters, an anxious mother, a wry and weary father, and a house full of noise and feeling. But how did they come to be that family?
Before Pride and Prejudice begins where Austen's novel does not: in the years before the story starts. It follows Thomas and Elizabeth Bennet from their courtship through the early years of their marriage, and traces the childhood of each of their five daughters—Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Kitty, and Lydia—as the family takes shape.
Drawing closely on Austen's own text, John L. Stone imagines what might have happened before her story began—staying faithful to her characters while filling in the years she left unwritten.
Available From
A Note from the Author
As a father and grandfather, my reading of Pride and Prejudice has changed over the years. I found myself becoming more sympathetic to Mr. and Mrs. Bennet and wondering how these two very different people might have become the husband and wife we meet in Austen's novel. Before long, I was asking the same question about their five daughters.
Before Pride and Prejudice grew from that curiosity. I did not want to change Austen's characters to suit my story. I wanted to imagine what might have happened before her story began that could help explain the people we eventually meet in it. When Austen gave an answer, I treated it as settled. When she didn't, I allowed myself to imagine what might have happened.
For Book Clubs
Reading Before Pride and Prejudice with your book club? Questions for conversation are available, along with a printable copy.
Questions for Conversation