Editions

Jane Austen · 1813

Pride and Prejudice

The text barely changes from copy to copy; the books around it change a great deal. Pride and Prejudice is sold in more pretty editions than almost any other classic, so this page sorts them by what each is good for, and says what each publisher actually promises about the binding.

Editions compared
17
Sewn bindings
0
Hardcovers
9

The short answer

To read and keep for decades

Everyman's Library

Full cloth, acid-free cream paper and a silk ribbon, with Peter Conrad's introduction, for under $30.

For a class

Norton Critical Edition

The 1813 first-edition text with expanded notes, early portraits of Austen and fourteen critical essays.

A cheap copy to mark up

Oxford World's Classics

Under $6 for a reliable text, with Christina Lupton's introduction, notes and a chronology.

To carry in a pocket

Macmillan Collector's Library

A small clothbound hardback with gold-foiled edges, a ribbon and Hugh Thomson's 1894 illustrations.

A keepsake gift

Folio Society

Seven colour illustrations by Anna and Elena Balbusso, metallic cloth and a slipcase.

Beautiful on the shelf

Penguin Clothbound Classics

Coralie Bickford-Smith's foil-stamped cloth design, the best-known spine in the series, for $25.

Not quite it? Compare all 17 editions ↓

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What we look at

Binding

Sewn pages open flat and stay in. Glued pages crack with age.

Paper

Acid-free stock does not yellow. Opaque stock hides the next page.

Type

Size, line spacing and margins decide whether you finish it.

Covers

Cloth over boards outlasts paper over boards, which outlasts paper.

Extras

Ribbon, slipcase, illustrations, introduction, notes.

Every edition worth buying

Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Everyman's Library hardcover

Everyman's Library

Hardcover · $20 to $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Full cloth
Paper
Acid-free, cream
Trim
5 × 8 in
Extras
Silk ribbon marker, decorative endpapers, introduction by Peter Conrad, chronology
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Clothbound Classics hardcover

Penguin Clothbound Classics

Hardcover · $20 to $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Cloth, foil-stamped
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
5¹⁄₁₆ × 7¾ in
Extras
Cover design by Coralie Bickford-Smith, edited by Vivien Jones, introduction by Tony Tanner
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Folio Society hardcover

Folio Society

Hardcover · Over $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Blocked metallic cloth, in a blocked slipcase
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
9½ × 6¼ in
Extras
Frontispiece and seven colour illustrations by Anna and Elena Balbusso, introduction by Sebastian Faulks, set in Baskerville
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Macmillan Collector's Library hardcover

Macmillan Collector's Library

Hardcover · UK

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Cloth
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
Pocket size
Extras
Gold-foiled page edges, ribbon marker, Hugh Thomson's illustrations, afterword by Henry Hitchings
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, DK Classics hardcover

DK Classics

Hardcover · $20 to $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Foiled
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
5¹⁄₁₆ × 7¹³⁄₁₆ in
Extras
Sprayed edges, marbled endpapers, silk ribbon marker
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Vintage Collector's Classics hardcover

Vintage Collector's Classics

Hardcover · UK

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Foiled
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
207 × 139 mm
Extras
Sprayed edges, marbled endpapers, silk ribbon marker
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Wordsworth Collector's Editions hardcover

Wordsworth Collector's Editions

Hardcover · UK

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Cloth, blocked in gold and colour
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
Compact
Extras
Matching coloured endpapers. The cheapest hardback here
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, British Library first-edition facsimile hardcover

British Library first-edition facsimile

Hardcover · Over $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Marbled paper, in a clamshell case
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
4½ × 7¼ in
Extras
Three volumes, deckled edges, reproduced letters and ephemera, introductory booklet by Catriona Gourlay

A facsimile of the 1813 first edition in its original three volumes, with the long-s type and spellings of the time.

Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Pride and Prejudice, An Annotated Edition (Harvard) hardcover

Pride and Prejudice, An Annotated Edition (Harvard)

Hardcover · $20 to $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Not yet checked
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
9 × 9½ in
Extras
Edited and annotated by Patricia Meyer Spacks, notes in columns beside the text, 74 colour illustrations
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, The Annotated Pride and Prejudice (Anchor) paperback

The Annotated Pride and Prejudice (Anchor)

Paperback · $20 to $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Paper
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
Not yet checked
Extras
Annotations by David M. Shapard, maps, illustrations, chronology of the novel's events
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Norton Critical Edition paperback

Norton Critical Edition

Paperback · $20 to $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Paper
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
5.1 × 8.4 in
Extras
Edited by Donald Gray and Mary A. Favret, with early biographical portraits, critical essays and a chronology
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Oxford World's Classics paperback

Oxford World's Classics

Paperback · Under $20

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Paper
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
5.1 × 7.7 in
Extras
Introduction by Christina Lupton, notes, chronology and bibliography
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Classics paperback paperback

Penguin Classics paperback

Paperback · Under $20

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Paper
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
5¹⁄₁₆ × 7¾ in
Extras
Introductions by Tony Tanner and Vivien Jones, notes by Vivien Jones
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition paperback

Penguin Classics Deluxe Edition

Paperback · $20 to $50

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Paper
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
5⅝ × 8⁷⁄₁₆ in
Extras
Cover illustration by Ruben Toledo
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Vintage Classics (Netflix tie-in) paperback

Vintage Classics (Netflix tie-in)

Paperback · Under $20

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Paper
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
5³⁄₁₆ × 8 in
Extras
Introduction by Dolly Alderton
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Wordsworth Classics paperback paperback

Wordsworth Classics paperback

Paperback · UK

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Paper
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
Not yet checked
Extras
Introduction and notes by Ian Littlewood
Cover of Pride and Prejudice, Dover Thrift Edition paperback

Dover Thrift Edition

Paperback · Under $20

Binding
Not yet checked
Covers
Paper
Paper
Not yet checked
Trim
5 × 8 in
Extras
The text alone, with no introduction or notes

What we left out

Since Pride and Prejudice entered the public domain, anyone can print it, and many do badly. We leave out any copy with these signs.

  • No named publisher or imprint on the listing
  • Printed on demand, one copy at a time
  • Abridged for young readers without saying so on the front
  • Text scanned from an old copy, with errors left in