Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice: The First Regency Era Romance?

A new take on a classic Regency era novel — with an introduction
by Nola Saint James

“It is a truth universally acknowledged that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.” For romance writers of all genres, Jane Austen’s powerful introduction to the classic Pride and Prejudice is something of a rallying cry. A copy of that opening sentence — with a picture of Jane — hangs on the wall behind my computer. I reflect on it every day before I begin to write.

Like all great catechisms, Austen’s most famous novel serves to focus the mind on what is truly important. For writers of Regency era romances in particular, the need of a woman to marry in order to have any sort of satisfying life as an adult, is a vital component of almost any plot.

It must be acknowledged that, for the modern reader, Pride and Prejudice is a bit of a tough read. The book is beautifully written, but very much of its time. The book rewards one’s efforts to adjust to the language of Regency England, however. Pride and Prejudice, at the end of the day, is simply a great story.

For the reader with less patience, a unique version of Pride and Prejudice is now available. Poet, artist and Austen scholar James W. Gaynor has created a lovely book in which the first line of each of Austen’s 61 chapters is summarized in a brilliant haiku. Haiku is a Japanese poetry form of seventeen syllables.  In its most simple expression, there are three lines of five, seven, and five syllables each.

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in 61 Haiku introduces us to all the romance and action of Austen’s great work without having to trudge through pages of incomprehensible dialogue and antiquated social conventions. At the end of the book, Gaynor has provided the reader with literary notes that further enhance appreciation of the original work.

An award-winning cover by brilliant graphic designer Kelly Duke McKinley enhances the pleasure that readers will take in owning this lovely little gem. Now out in a second, revised edition, Gaynor’s work has an introduction by yours truly. It is available through this website and also on Kindle through Amazon. Enjoy!

Everyone knows – all
rich unmarried men need wives.
It’s universal.

—Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in 61 Haiku by James W. Gaynor

JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE AND PREJUDICE IN 61 HAIKU | By James W. Gaynor | Nemeton Press| 195 pp.