Undoubtedly, Jane Austen’s masterpiece is Pride and Prejudice. This light romantic comedy presents a dysfunctional family, whose lives change when young aristocrats move into the neighborhood. The novel centers on the life of Elizabeth Bennet, the second oldest Bennet daughter, a young free spirit who has prejudices against the wealthy upon meeting the arrogant Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy. At first, the two understandably loathe each other, but soon are attracted like the two opposite poles of a magnet are unfathomably attracted to each other. In addition, despite being from two different social classes, Darcy and Elizabeth set out to break the barriers of social classes.

With wit and distinct use of description, Jane Austen creates a bewitching and enrapturing tale of love between two different social classes. Her dialogue is brilliant and her characters are memorable—from the melodramatic Mrs. Bennet to the sarcastic and often cynical Mr. Bennet to the kind-hearted Jane Bennet, who Anna Quindlen cleverly remarked as “the sugar to Elizabeth’s lemonade”. Her prose is one of the most sophisticated prose writing in English literature. Moreover, her themes of pride, prejudice, love, social class, and family devotion make this novel the masterpiece it will always be. From the beginning iconic line—“It is a truth universally acknowledged…”—to Finis, Jane Austen never disappoints or lack wit or charisma, despite what some may think. Austen proves that you do not need fast-paced action, profanity, or sexuality to create a masterpiece that has influenced major works, parodies, innumerable fan-made epilogues, prequels, and sequels, and films—such as Twilight, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, and Bridget Jones’s Diary; although she herself uses some mild suspense in this novel.

The novel has been adapted into countless films and television series; most notably the 1940 film, starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, which won one Academy Award for Best Art Direction (Cedric Gibbons and Paul Groesse). The other famous adaption of Pride and Prejudice is the 2005 version, starring Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen, which was nominated for four Academy Awards for Best Actress (Keira Knightley), Best Original Score (Dario Marianelli), Best Art Direction (Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer), and Best Costume Design (Jacqueline Durran).