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

I love P&P because it is a wonderfully written timeless story. So many other novels owe it an enormous debt (sometimes acknowledged, sometimes not!) It's one of the novels I cannot wait to introduce to my daughter when she is a little older :)

I love P&P because its subtle and witty and so very very clever!

I love Pride and Prejudice because it gives insight into how the landed gentry thought and acted in the the early 19th century, and how they dealt with issues like society marriage, education, upbringing, and morality, all the issues we still face today.

We can't forget Elizabeth and Darcy's relationship. Elizabeth with her jealousy, and Darcy with his pride, and how they both overcame them when they fell in love.

thecat, I know what you mean, so I've started reading the last few chapters of a book or reading the recaps of a tv programme online before. I actually find myself enjoying reading/watching it much more as a result!

I love Lizzie but I was recently asked which character I'd like to have a cup of tea with and it actually occurred to me that I have a great fondness for Charlotte Lucas. She's very perceptive and thoughtful and, while I couldn't have married Mr Collins, she goes into with her eyes open and for (at the time) very sensible reasons. I think I would enjoy being her friend and getting her opinion on things!

I'm going to be honest. I've thought about it, and I realise that I wasn't entirely truthful in that last post.

One of the reasons I love P and P is that I know that it will all end well - so I can really enjoy the narrative/journey on the way. I think that's one of the things I really like about P and P - and all the books/films that follow the same plot device.

It's an odd thing but I find that with some books, I have to race through the story - not really getting a chance to really enjoy the journey - because my heart is in my mouth worrying that it's all going to be awful at the end. With P and P - and others like it - I love the fact that I can really take my time and enjoy all the twists and turns and humour and commentary. It's like the difference between having grab a sandwich and being able to sit down and enjoy a meal.

I love the satire and irony, as well as the window onto a world's now gone but recognisable in parts.

I love that although P&P is written in a different era, today's reader can totally relate to many of the issues and dilemas still occuring to lives now. Amazing really.

I love p&p because lizzie is strong and witty and someone to embrace, Darcy sees her spirit and admires her for it even there are a few push me pull me arguments. You can cheer for her as a modern lady but you can enjoy him as a gentleman without the dish rag soppiness. Any story that can successfully emulate the same passion, humour and vitality gets a place on my bookshelf.

Because you are gunning for an unlikeable character - much like in Emma. But she's also funny. And naughty. (And not as annoying as Emma). And Lydia is fab. And Darcy is hot n haughty.

Basically because it's a beautiful love story and under my hard and bitter shell, I'm a softy!

It's hard to imagine the literary landscape without 'Pride and Prejudice': Austen developed a perfect plot form. It's so good that people have been compelled to write it again, and again, and again.

Love, money, and acute social analysis, all delivered in brilliant prose. And it's funny.

I've read it several times now and love how easy it is to immerse yourself in it. I particularly love the fact that, each time I read it, I notice more, whether at the level of language construction or detail/nuance in the content. Somehow, it seems to mature with me. Or perhaps, I grow into it.

I am rather excited by the sound of Curtis Sittenfield's book. Hope I win a copy.

Loved Pride & Prejudice ever since I read it for my English Literature GCSE (TOOO many years ago now!). I loved the language, the romance & the humour in it. Was gripped & have been ever since. I have also watched every film & TV series since!

It's a well written story full of satire and and a great picture of a long gone way of life.

It does sound a great spin on Pride and Prejudice. I'd love to know what the author does with Mr Collins (best comic character ever to have inhabited a novel, in my opinion.)

We still read Jane Austen some two hundred years on because her novels, especially Pride and Prejudice, are often considered to be harmless comedies of manners and morality, always set in polite society. But they actually contain much darker subtexts, and we’re still able to respond to these. Austen’s novels aren’t fairy tales. Far from it. Central to the popularity of Pride and Prejudice is the romance between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy – a storyline helped by Colin Firth’s popular portrayal of Fitzwilliam Darcy in the BBC’s coverage of the book. This revived the story all over again.

Now that sounds like good spin on P&P. I love that Elizabeth Bennett is not an airhead. She is a great role model. I also love poor long suffering Mr Bennett, that wife and 5 daughters, the man needs a medal (or a holiday!)

I love it on so many levels.

As a comedy of manners, poking fun at the requirements of respectability whilst also making the serious point of how constricting it could be if you were to avoid being ostracised. The rigidity of the social strata, how easy it could be for the respectable Bennets to fall into penury on the death of the father (as happened in Sense & Sensibility), the sheer vulnerability of being a woman in the society as described.

And then the little asides, the social history as it were, such as 'tourists' being admitted to grand houses and given a tour. I read up on it, this was normal then, I was amazed!

As a bit of a mystery - why is D'Arcy behaving like this? Oh, that makes sense now! Which acts as a reminder to not judge a book by its cover, and to think about what might be driving people's behaviour beyond what you can observe yourself.

As a damned good romance. Whilst Lizzie may have fine eyes, what really attracts these two to each other is their characters.

And of course the way all the people are instantly recognisable - the snobs, the nobs, the sycophants, the self-absorbed, the resigned to their life, the practical, the sexual predator, the naive, the drama-llama. (Admit it, you know exactly who I mean by those descriptions!) Austen makes each and every one of her characters utterly believable.

I love P & P because I can read it time & time again without tiring of such a great classic. It is a love story with some comedy, & characters with different facets. It has the perfect ending too.

I love Pride and Prejudice because the theme is timeless. We are all guilty of prejudging someone based on first impressions and being too proud to back down over initial assumptions about someone's character. The growing attraction between Elizabeth and Mr Darcy is both romantic and erotic. His growing desire for Elizabeth is set against his rather arrogant belief in his superiority of class and results in the suppression of his natural emotions.This is exciting to observe and is perhaps the reason that Mr Darcy is widely seen as a desirable hero by many readers.
Pride and Prejudice has amongst it's lesser themes, class struggle, sexual abuse, romantic love, the danger of poor judgment,and, for Mumsnetters, the importance of family.
The novel is often comic because of the the ridiculous behaviour of some characters. It is easy to laugh at Mr Collins (and pity poor Charlotte). It is easy to feel a righteous dislike when faced with Lady Catherine De Bourgh's dominating, manipulative conduct. She would make an exceptionally difficult Mother in Law. I am sure that many Mumsnetters would find much to moan about if saddled with a MIL like her!
It is a book that can be re-read over and over again and it still has the capacity to resonate with modern audiences. I really enjoyed the American Wife and I think Jane Austen would appreciate the situation of Alice Blackwell, married to a man (President) less intelligent than herself. It is a situation that Jane was familiar with (think of Mr Collins and Charlotte). I am sure that Curtis Sittenfeld will make a brilliant job of giving Pride and Prejudice (and characters) a contemporary setting in order to retell a timeless story.
I would love to win a copy please......

Pride and Prejudice - a book I grew up with and loved (despite tortuous English Lit lessons where, often, they did nothing but spoil a loved piece of literature). A mix of gentle humour and biting satire which works wonders on its audience and never ceases to please.

I love P&P as it was my first taste of Jane Austen and it tells a tale that, despite its age, still felt relevant to the time I was reading it (13 year old in the late 90's!). It made me fall in love with older novels and opened up a huge genre to me. it showed that despite 100's of years passing by, it seems that some things never change! :)

It is a truth universally acknowledged that I am P & P's greatest fan. Over the years I hav come to ardently admire and love the book more and more. It is of utmost importance that I win this prize.

I have loved all of Curtis Sittenfeld's other novels, particularly Prep and The American Wife, and as a fan of P&P I am intrigued and looking forward to reading Eligible. Pride and Prejudice has stood the test of time because of the strength of the characterisation, every one feels 'real' even today.

I love P&P because it's timeless. Boy meets girl, girl hates boy, boy pretends to hate girl but actually rather likes her, girl comes round and rather likes boy, they fall in love and voila!

It's what every crap chick lit book has been based on and hasn't done quite as well ever since.

I love it because I never tire of it. No matter how many times I read it I still cringe at Mrs Bennet and Mr Collins's pomposity, laugh at Mr Bennet teasing his wife, find solace in the relationship between Jane and Lizzie, and rejoice when all is made right in the end.