1813 · T. Egerton, Whitehall · first edition text
Read Pride and Prejudice online in the 1813 text, with Austen’s own spellings left alone.
Free to read, chapter by chapter, all 61 of them. Proofed line by line against a scan of the three-volume first edition. “Chuse” stays “chuse”. Book clubs and classes can ask for printed or large-print packs, quoted by email.
- Words
- ~122,000
- At 238 wpm
- 8 h 33 min
- Chapters
- 61
- Price
- Free online
Volume I · Chapter 1
Read chapter one online
It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.
However little known the feelings or views of such a man may be on his first entering a neighbourhood, this truth is so well fixed in the minds of the surrounding families, that he is considered as the rightful property of some one or other of their daughters.
“My dear Mr. Bennet,” said his lady to him one day, “have you heard that Netherfield Park is let at last?”
Mr. Bennet replied that he had not.
Text as printed in 1813, vol. I, p. 1. Chapter one runs about 850 words, four minutes at 238 wpm.
Editor’s note on the 1813 text
Most free copies of this novel descend from an 1890s reprint that quietly modernised Austen. It turned “chuse” into “choose” and “teaze” into “tease”, and tidied her punctuation while it was at it. We went back to the first edition, printed for Thomas Egerton in January 1813, and kept what it says.
That means you will meet “stile”, “shew”, “expences” and “scarce” used where we would write “scarcely”. Each one gets a small note the first time it appears. After that, we trust you.
The one thing we do change is layout. The 1813 printer ran some exchanges between Elizabeth and her mother into a single paragraph. Where two speakers share a paragraph and the reader could lose track of who is talking, we break it and log the break. There are 14 of those. All are in the ledger below.
What we will not do: add chapter titles, abridge the Collins proposal, or cut the long letter in chapter 35. It is long. It was long in 1813 too.
Content notes
- An elopement with a 15-year-old, discussed as a family scandal rather than shown.
- Money and marriage treated as a matter of survival for women, which is the point of the book, not a flaw in it.
Correction ledger
Every change since launch, dated
The book went live on 14 February 2022. These are the corrections made after that date, newest first. If you spot something, report it. We check within 7 days.
- 2024-09-03Ch. 43:
choosechuse. OCR had silently modernised one instance. Restored to match 1813.vol. III, p. 7 - 2024-02-11Ch. 56: paragraph break restored before Lady Catherine’s reply. Two speakers had merged.vol. III, p. 186
- 2023-10-19Ch. 19:
Mr CollinsMr. Collins. The 1813 text uses the full stop throughout; one had been dropped.vol. I, p. 238 - 2023-05-02Ch. 35: a line of Darcy’s letter had been set in italic by our template. Returned to roman.vol. II, p. 105
- 2022-11-28Ch. 7:
militiaregiment. Our typo, not Austen’s.vol. I, p. 72 - 2022-06-15Note added on “stile” after three readers wrote in thinking it was an error.ch. 9, note 2
- 2022-03-04Ch. 3: missing closing quotation mark after “tolerable” supplied.vol. I, p. 23
Proof and process
How this edition was made, and how a pack reaches you
One editor proofed all 61 chapters against the first-edition scan over five weeks in late 2021. It was one of our first titles, after The Great Gatsby. Three of us run Novelvora from Austin, and the same correspondent answers every pack request.
You write in
Use the form below. Tell us how many readers, the format (print, large print or digital) and the date of your first meeting.
We quote by email, usually within two working days
The quote depends on the number of copies, the format and whether you want discussion notes. Nothing is charged on this site.
You confirm or walk away
No deposit is taken until you reply to say yes. Silence is a no.
The pack is prepared from this exact text
Same spellings, same notes, same ledger. Page numbers match between the print and large-print versions so a mixed group can talk about “page 40”.
Fair questions before you choose this edition
Isn’t the old spelling a distraction for students?
For about two chapters. There are fewer than 30 distinct old forms in the whole novel. If a class needs modern spelling for an exam board, this is not the edition for them, and we will say so rather than quote.
Do you add study questions?
Only in packs, and only if asked. The online text carries notes on words and printing, never on meaning. We don’t tell you what to think of Mr. Collins.
Can I read it without making an account?
Yes. There are no accounts. Your place is kept in your own browser.
Group packs · quoted on request
Ask about a Pride and Prejudice pack
Reading-group packs are quoted by email. Tell us how many readers and when you meet. More on formats on the reading groups page.