How old is Lydia Bennet at the start of the novel?

Lydia Bennet is fifteen years old at the start of Pride and Prejudice. Austen introduces her as a “stout, well-grown girl of fifteen,” already eager for the attention and excitement of military officers.

Lydia is the youngest of the five Bennet sisters and is described as lively, flirtatious, and impulsive. Her mother encourages her social ambitions, while her father largely responds to her behavior with detached amusement. Because the family gives her little meaningful guidance, Lydia’s recklessness grows unchecked.

Her age matters to the plot. Lydia’s flight with George Wickham is not merely embarrassing: it threatens the reputation and marriage prospects of all her sisters. Darcy eventually intervenes by locating the couple, settling Wickham’s debts, and arranging their marriage.

A frequent source of confusion is that Lydia turns sixteen during the story. Later references place her at sixteen, but the question asks about her age at the novel’s beginning, when she is fifteen.