Q 01/05

In which era was Pride and Prejudice first published?

A) Restoration

B) Regency

C) Edwardian

D) Elizabethan

Answer · why

B) Regency

The Regency began in 1811, when the future George IV started ruling for his ailing father, and the Prince Regent liked Austen's novels enough to keep ...

Q 02/05

What was Jane Austen's working title for Pride and Prejudice?

A) A Truth Universally Acknowledged

B) First Impressions

C) Elizabeth and Darcy

D) The Bennets of Longbourn

Answer · why

B) First Impressions

First Impressions had been used for another novel by the time Austen revised her manuscript in 1811–12, which is the likely reason she renamed it.

Q 03/05

What did Austen sell outright for £110 when Pride and Prejudice was published?

A) Stage rights

B) Serial rights

C) The copyright

D) Foreign rights

Answer · why

C) The copyright

The copyright went to Thomas Egerton for a one-off payment, so when the first edition sold out within a year the profits were his, and he made more fr...

Q 04/05

What completes Austen's line 'a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of...'?

A) a house

B) an heir

C) a wife

D) a title

Answer · why

C) a wife

A wife is the joke: the next sentence shows it is the local families doing the wanting, each treating such a man as 'the rightful property' of one of ...

Q 05/05

How is Jane sent to the Bingleys?

A) On foot

B) By carriage

C) By cart

D) On horseback

Answer · why

D) On horseback

On horseback, because Mrs Bennet hopes rain will keep her there overnight, and it works too well: Jane arrives soaked and is laid up at the Bingleys' ...