If you love Pride & Prejudice, tell us why for a chance to win a copy of ELIGIBLE BY CURTIS SITTENFELD + £100 SWEATY BETTY voucher

Fabulous, thank you so much!

I will look forward to the book, and also to choosing some snazzy new exercising kit (hope it will spur me on to get a bit fitter)!

I think Austen clearly illustrated at a time when women didn't even have the right to vote or inherit, that you could find an equal of mind and that the greatest partnerships are balanced on each seemingly having opposite strengths and weaknesses and no-one is ever perfect!

A strong and discerning female heroine - (hopefully) gets the happy ending but with a partner who respects her opinions. The family dynamics is brilliantly described, also the predicament of women at that time and the pressure on them to find a 'good' marriage match.

What is not to love? Family saga with love intrigue and plotting!!!!

I love the mix of characters in Pride & Prejudice, with so many different perspectives on how happiness can be found. I found the various subplots unexpected, unlike many modern novels, but mostly I fell in love with Liz's seemingly modern attitude and how she didn't do what was expected of her by society or her mother.

I love reading P&P because it is so cuttingly funny - which you don't really get from the TV adaptations.

Love Pride and Prejudice, It's not just about two people blindly falling in love. It's about two people, very well aware of each others obnoxious issues and flaws, yet still falling head over heels in love. A masterpiece.

It has everything you need from a book in it; the will they get together / won't they, the humour, the scandal and humour. You can't help but feel good and smile when you read P&P.

I simply love the skilful depiction of the range of characters. Austen was brilliant at that.

I love Lizzie Bennet's strength and reasoning, her loyalty to her family, when faced with the declaration from Darcy. It was the first, and best, of the stomach churning and emotional romance novels I've read over the years. Jane Austen took the traditional 'boy meets girl' and turned it on its head. I'd love to read a modernisation of this as I love the story in every form.

Because it's a timeless romance decorated with a humour and punctuated a satire that never grow old.

Ooh was just reading the Telegraph article talking about different authors covering modern versions of classics and they mentioned this.
Pride and Prejudice was my English Literature set book. I loved it. It made me laugh, I related to the characters. It was the first book I ever reread and have reread every year since.
The same goes for the Jennifer Ehle/ Colin Firth series. I have watched it many times.
Very excited to see a new slant on the original story and would love a copy. Mainly so I can read is as soon as possible.

Ooh, I want to read this so much. I love P&P because the Bennet family reads as a real family. Also for Darcy.

I like P&P because it's so modern. Lizzie is determined to go her own way, & seems (mostly) unafraid of doing so. Having read all of Austen's novels, it's pretty clear that she really didn't like people that much in general - I sympathise with this!

Because it is fantastic to have a book with a strong sharp witted heroine.

Because it shows different people can make different valid choices (Charlotte choosing Mr Collins with her eyes wide open).

Because it has spawned sequels, films, and pastiches.

Because my 11yo enjoys watching 3 different versions on the TV, and can pick out the era on other programs 'because they dress like Mr Darcy'.

And also because in real life I am the second sister and people comment on it.

I am interested how the author rewrites this book in the modern era with phones and facebook and instant communication. I have enjoyed the other Austen adaptations and have been waiting for this one especially.

I think that in this instance the original cannot be beaten. It's a classic and should be left alone....just my thoughts....

I love Pride and Prejudice because Elizabeth becomes a wealthy women despite a prejudice against the rich man, and not because of one. :-)

And she is clearly intelligent.

Plus, Mr and Mrs Bennett are hilarious!

I love just how classic it is, love the names, the wit, the sass - it was ahead of its time but also timeless.

Oooh I absolutely loved P&P when I first read it as a teenager (many moons ago) and I thoroughly enjoyed The American Wife too. I'm desperate for a new book to get my teeth into, having read a couple of bad 'uns recently.

I'd be dead chuffed to get a copy of Curtis Sittenfeld's new book, Eligible. Having read a couple of reviews it looks right up my street. I like the concept of the book and I'd love a copy to devour with a cup of tea. and maybe a biscuit too.

Pride and prejudice is one of my favourite books down to its tongue in cheek humour and fancy. It's hard to pick a favourite character but I do love the comic sidelines of mr Collins and mr & Mrs Bennett .

I was about to comment on this thread yesterday as I love p&p, but then realised that I had actually never read the book but have watched it over and over.

This thread is responsible for my tiredness today as I could not put it down despite already knowing what happens!

I think I had always thought the book would be as hard going as Dickens, but the dialogue was witty and interesting and kept me turning pages. Loved it.

That everytime one reads it one learns something new about the characters. And just love that the Bennet sisters are all so very different, and not in any way 'simpering stay-at home girls'.

P&P is a Mills & Boon with knobs on...
Misunderstandings all round, hate at first sight, arguments and fallings out (or is falling outs.. )

The characters are timeless and placeless - hence I have no doubt at all that Eligible will be a screaming success. Put Lizzie on a council estate in Northern Ireland or an alpaca farm in Peru and she would still be passionate, adventurous and determined. And similarly Darcy would be as much at home in a coal mine as he is in genteel society.

It's the finely drawn characters that illustrate breadth of emotion in different scenarios and with varying outcomes that make this story so compelling. We know how it ends yet we still roll along with all the emotional ups and downs that the courtship throws at us. It's like a good tv programme where you're yelling at the screen and telling all the actors to stop being so stupid!

The dialogue is what sings about p&p. That's why the Colin frith adaptation was so successful, because the dialogue was pretty much verbatim.

How did she do that?