Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice was first published in 1813. Thomas Egerton released the first edition in London on 28 January 1813 as a three-volume hardcover set.
The novel follows Elizabeth Bennet as she navigates family pressures, social expectations, mistaken judgments, and her increasingly complicated relationship with Fitzwilliam Darcy. Its comedy of manners also examines marriage, money, reputation, and class in Regency-era England.
Austen originally drafted the work under the title First Impressions. Like Austen’s other early novels, it was published anonymously; the title page identified its author only as “the Author of Sense and Sensibility.” Austen had sold the copyright to Egerton for £110, giving up later profits from the book’s success.
The first edition sold well enough to be followed by a second edition in October 1813. Readers sometimes confuse the publication year with later American editions or with the dates of Austen’s other novels, but 1813 is the year of the original English publication.