What was the original working title of 'Pride and Prejudice'?

The original working title of 'Pride and Prejudice' was 'First Impressions.' Jane Austen began writing the novel in October 1796 and completed an early version by August 1797, when she was in her early twenties.

Austen's father offered the manuscript to London bookseller Thomas Cadell in 1797, but Cadell rejected it without reading it. Austen later substantially revised the novel between 1811 and 1812, by which time she had already published 'Sense and Sensibility.' The revised work was renamed 'Pride and Prejudice' before publication.

The change may have helped avoid confusion: in the intervening years, other works had appeared under the title 'First Impressions.' Austen may also have drawn inspiration from the phrase 'Pride and Prejudice,' which appears prominently in the final chapter of Frances Burney's 1782 novel 'Cecilia.' The original manuscript has not survived, so details of the earliest version remain uncertain.