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My Pride and Prejudice Collection

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My Pride and Prejudice Collection

My goal was only to collect pretty copies, but sometimes an ugly one slipped through for other reasons, and I’m okay with that.

I found my love of this classic pretty late in my teens. I was in college, reading it over Christmas break for the very first time, and I fell in love with it. The next Christmas I was reminded of my time reading it and itched to read it again, so I did, only this time with a different copy. It was actually a couple years before I discovered that my plain, dare I say mildly ugly, little copies were far from the only versions out there, and it wasn’t long after that I was collecting as many covers as I could. It started as an excuse of “I will read a different version every year” and I have, but I’ve probably surpassed the point where that excuse is valid. My goal was only to collect pretty copies, but sometimes an ugly one slipped through for other reasons, and I’m okay with that.

I won’t pretend to know where each of these books in my collection was purchased, but I’ll tell you what I can about them. I’ve included a look at the cover, the spine, and the important details (usually the publishing info page) in case you’d like to search for a certain copy yourself.

Pride and PrejudiceThis is my original copy. I loved that it was annotated to help a classic novel newbie like me follow along with some of the language.

This edition is really fun and different. It has a lot of illustrations and a really cool fold out of Pemberley.

My husband got me this as part of a larger set of Austen novels. He knows me well enough to know that this is why I wanted it. But I appreciate the others because the entire set is beautiful.

My sister got me this one from Christmas, I believe. It’s leatherbound with gold edges.

My sister got me this for Christmas as well. It’s not strictly a book, as it was actually a page-a-day calendar, but the entire book is in it, so I never tore it apart. Felt wrong.

I bought myself this copy very early on, as it was a gorgeous leatherbound edition and included P&P. I thought it was the only way to find a pretty version of the book. How young and naive I was…

This Boddington book is technically part of a set if you choose to buy the others. I don’t remember where or when I got this, but I think it might have been while I was in London.

I got this copy from Book Depository. I thought it was really interesting and different.

The background on this cover is so pretty. It’s clothbound and I believe I found this one on Book Depository a as well.

My best friend gifted me this one and it’s one of my very favorites. It cracks me up.

I technically already had this book when I picked this one up. But the cover florals had changed in this version, so for some reason I felt I needed both. This one feels a little more… mass produced than the other one. It’s kind of hard to explain why, but the cover is a little glossier.

I don’t actually remember whether I got this one myself from Book Depository or if I ended up getting it as a Christmas present from my sister. Either way I love the simplicity of this one.

This is one of my all time favorite covers. The watercolor on this is so beautiful!

This is actually a sneaky favorite of mine. It’s very simple, but the feel and color of it is really nice. Clothbound books just feel really nice. No idea where or how I got this one, so it was likely one I bought myself.

This one I got from my best friend for Christmas early on in my collecting days. It’s clothbound and very understated, mainly because it’s leaning more toward vintage. I love this copy so much.

I remember seeing this one first in our little local drugstore while picking up a prescription. I held off on buying it as back then I tried to not buy too many copies for myself. I asked for this one as a birthday or Christmas present, but I can’t remember now when it actually came into my possession.

I think this one was gifted to me by my sister.

My sister definitely probably gifted me this one after traveling abroad.

I’m not sure whether I bought this or my sister bought it for me. I like all the extra flourishes around the words.

I saw this one in a book box forever ago and learned that I could find it on Amazon if I scrolled through enough pages. I love the design of this one so I had to have it.

While the box isn’t my favorite, I love the foiling and look of the actual clothbound book inside it. I haven’t had the heart to actually remove the box, though.

I think I found this copy in the used bookstore in my town and I love how tiny it is!

This was an early buy, another attempt to find a pretty copy of the book without knowing how pretty they can really be. I do, however, love the use of the peacock as a representation of the theme.

I believe this one was gifted to me, but I honestly don’t know for sure. I went through a phase where I had a lot of copies on my wishlist and I went ahead and fulfilled my wishes with some spending money I had at the time.

This copy was gifted to me by a bookstagram friend and it’s so pretty and simple. The typography on this is so lovely.

I want to say that I got this from a friend, but I might have gotten it at Books A Million. I love this copy.

I found this copy when I went to London. The design is so pretty. It’s one of my favorite copies.

This is a very recent purchase and easily one of my favorites. It’s so simple and yet pulls that peacock theme back in which I personally love.

This was my first, what I would consider, really pretty copies I ever got my hands on. I love the clothbound classics. And yellow being my favorite color just adds to why this is one of my very favorite copies.

I got this one at Books-A-Million. I mostly got it for the spine, rather than the cover art, though I do appreciate the layout. Girls in dresses on covers have really just never been my thing.

I was gifted this one from my best friend. It’s an original Folio Society edition. They updated it since this copy, and I own that one, too.

Another of my best friends gifted me this copy and I think it’s one of the prettiest ones I own. The color and design are just fantastic. Plus, it’s clothbound and larger than many of my other editions, so it stands out.

This was the original version of that grey one I mentioned earlier with the purple flowers. This one isn’t exactly clothbound, but the texture isn’t as smooth as the other one. It’s a little thicker, as well. This one was a gift and is one of my very favorites.

I picked this one up at an antique shop/used book store. I loved the vintage school vibe of this one.

I saw this one on Book Depository and thought it was such a unique cover that I had to have it.

So this is the exact same book as that big illustrated edition I mentioned earlier, it’s just the paperback version. I felt the need to have this cover, though, and didn’t realize it was exactly the same until after I got it in. I’m not mad about it.

Here is the other Folio Society edition. I was so excited about this one because I was in London where their shop is, so I got to actually pick it out in the store, which was such a fun experience because all those books are gorgeous.

This one was gifted to me by a bookstagram friend. It’s such a fun and different looking vintage copy!

Pride and Prejudice

This one was part of a set, but let’s be honest, I bought the entire set for this clothbound beauty. (Actually, I may have been gifted this one by my hubby. I can’t remember).

I think I was gifted this one. I love how tiny it is! The dust cover isn’t particularly pretty, but I love the naked red clothbound cover underneath.

This is one of my all time favorite P&P covers. It was gifted to me by a bookstagram friend and I can’t say why exactly I love it so much, but I really do. I love the retro style and the artwork and colors.

This is another favorite. It feels almost like a letterpress piece, or a woodcut, with the design actually indented into the cover. It’s a delight for the eyes and the fingers!

The fact that I’m a hand letterer make this Penguin Drop Caps copy an extra special favorite for me. I appreciate the design and the creativity of this one so much. It pulls that peacock theme into it, which I love, and the colors and just overall cover design is so on point here.

Though glossy and worn and seemingly nothing too special, something about this copy makes me very very happy. My husband gifted me this one, and I love it so much!

This is my newest acquisition. I didn’t realize that the flowers were foiled until I held it in my hands. I was actually gifted this from my husband and my sister for my birthday, and had to return one of the copies back to Book Depository. This has a nice weight to it, and it’s absolutely gorgeous.

I got this one during my London trip as well! It’s like the paperback remix of the yellow clothbound classic!

Pride and Prejudice

I can’t remember where I got this one. I think it was maybe gifted to me from one of my best friends. I really like this copy as it’s very different.

On second thought, this might be the copy my sister got me. There are two red leather copies in my collection. I know my sister got me one of them. She might have gotten me both. I can’t remember now.

This was the second copy I ever bought. I thought the girls were prettier than the Elizabeth on the cover of the pink one.

I didn’t expect to like this one as much as I did. It was such a fun re-read the year I read this one.

This is a very special copy because you can no longer get it in this format. I actually designed this cover for a place called Creative Action Network. They had this thing called Recovering the Classics, and I actually did about five designs, but this was by far my best. They printed them through a college, and somebody was clearly not paying attention during typesetting, because they spelled Austen wrong on the spine.

This is probably my very favorite copy, if I was forced to choose. This letterer is someone I greatly admire, and this copy is incredibly gorgeous. It’s leatherbound, and now very hard to find, as Barnes and Noble only sells them in clothbound now.

***

And then I have the non-English editions, the ones given to me by friends who visited or live somewhere else in the world:

I was given this from my Brazilian bookstagram bestie!

This was also from Brazil!

This copy is French, I believe. I think my sister got me this one.

My sister brought me this one back from Italy.

Pride and Prejudice

My sister brought me this one back from… Sweden? I don’t actually remember.

*

I also have a few kid’s versions of P&P as well.
These are obviously only focused on the essentials:

I love BabyLit books, so when they came out with a storybook edition, I knew we had to have it!

This one was gifted to us by the publisher!

The original BabyLit book. I actually ended up with two copies of this, so one stays in my library!

***

And then I have what might not be considered as part of the collection, since technically these are re-imagined versions, but I count them anyway:

Pride and Prejudice

This is actually a seek and find, but it introduces every character and all the settings. I adore this one.

This one was a gift. It’s really silly.

I have only read The Secret Diary of Lizzie Bennet, which is based on a YouTube retelling that I absolutely adore, so I always include it in my collection. These others are also retellings that get to be at least tangentally included.

Pride and Prejudice

Finally we have the two books that aren’t actually books at all. One is a tea tin and the other is an e-reader case! They may not actually hold pages inside them, but they sure do look good on my Pride and Prejudice shelf!

And that’s it (for now) for my collection! It’s always growing, so I’m sure I’ll have to add to this list or make a new post someday. But as of right now, these are my copies of Pride and Prejudice! I hope you enjoyed!


Reader, Author, Bookstagrammer, and Mom; Alexis runs Nerdy Post, a fandom artwork box as well as serves as chief editor and writer on Drop and Give me Nerdy.

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