Core Curriculum : Literature Humanities

Jane Austen > 1831 Pride & Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice-titlepage

[Jane Austen]. Pride and Prejudice

London: T. Egerton, 1813

Columbia RBML PR 4034 .P7

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In 1813 the firm of Egerton and Co. published Jane Austen's second novel, Pride and Prejudice.  After the overwhelming success of the publication in January they released a second edition later that same year.  Pride and Prejudice was published as a “triple decker,” an edition in three volumes. The triple-decker form was widely employed throughout the nineteenth century until its production ceased abruptly in the late 1890s.  Each volume within a triple decker had its own page numbering sequence. This edition has the generous leading and margins characteristic of many triple-deckers, which sometimes demanded manipulative typography to fill the appointed space.

Also interesting in this edition is the presentation of the author’s name on the title page. Austen is referred to as the “Author of Sense and Sensibility.”  In turn, the title page of Sense and Sensibility (published by Egerton as a triple-decker in 1811) refers to its author merely as "A lady," indicating her gender without giving her proper name. Anonymous and pseudonymous publication was common in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, especially for women.

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