My only previous experience with Jane Austen was reading enough chapters of Emma to scrape through an exam many years ago. At the time, I think I was simply too young to appreciate Austen's writing style and delicate story telling. Reading Pride and Prejudice has made me desperate to pick up more of Austen's work in the future.

Pride and Prejudice is a story of love, society, status and, most importantly, family. This is an enchanting glimpse into the life of the Bennet family and their acquaintances. I enjoyed reading about the different time period and the whole thing felt very Downton Abbey which I, of course, absolutely loved!

As a family, the Bennet's never failed to both amuse and frustrate me. Mr Bennet captured my heart immediately with his endearing love towards Lizzy and his quick wit and dry humour. I found him to be so British and I was laughing to myself on several occasions due to the dialogue given to him by Austen. Mrs Bennet frustrated me but I understood her completely. Put quite simply, she is a loving mother who wants nothing more than for her five daughters to be married and well-looked after, even if she doesn't always get her point across in the most effective way!

Out of the five sisters, Lizzy is my absolute favourite, followed closely by Jane. I believe that this was probably Austen's intention as we learn a lot more about these two than we do the other three. I adored Jane's kind heart and her endless support and love of her family, especially Lizzy. I couldn't help but love Lizzy, she reflects so much of what I admire and crave from female characters. She is strong-willed, independent and not afraid to speak her mind, whilst still being a loving and caring sister and friend. I love that Austen took her opportunity to use Lizzy as a female character who does not conform to all of societies expectations at the time. I could not be happier that these two characters got their happy endings!

Mr Darcy, oh where do we begin? Although I knew how this story would end having seen the movie adaptation, I still felt myself flicking through the pages hoping to catch glimpses of Mr Darcy and Lizzy's names being mentioned together. This story is truly a love affair and shows exactly how love can come from the most unlikely of places.

It took a little while to get into this book at the beginning as I adapted my reading to Austen's written language. But this is the real treat of the book. I love the way in which Austen manipulates and uses the English language. I adore the way that Austen uses the word 'handsome' to refer to the women in her stories, it's something that always makes me feel a little fuzzy inside. You have to take your time to fully enjoy and appreciate this story and I could not be happier that I have finally read it.