Jane Austen began writing the novel that became Pride and Prejudice in 1796. She originally called the work First Impressions, and the early manuscript was drafted before the novel underwent substantial revisions more than a decade later.
Austen began the project after staying at Goodnestone Park in Kent with her brother Edward and his wife. She completed the initial version between October 1796 and August 1797, when she was about 21 years old. Her family reportedly heard her read the work aloud, and it became a favorite among them.
The manuscript’s first title reflected Austen’s interest in the judgments people form on meeting one another, a theme that remains central to the published novel. In November 1797, Austen’s father attempted to submit First Impressions to the London bookseller Thomas Cadell, but the proposal was rejected immediately. Austen later revised the work extensively in 1811 and 1812, changing its title to Pride and Prejudice. Thomas Egerton published the finished novel anonymously in 1813, and it became one of Austen’s best-known works.