Today is the 209th anniversary of the publication date of Pride & Prejudice. The ancient Romans said ars longa, vita brevis (art is long, life is brief).
The fact that a novel more than two centuries old reads like it was written yesterday is living testimony to that fact. Even references that might seem more obscure, like what it actually means for a man to be worth 10,000 a year or why Fordyce’s sermons are such a bore, seem intelligible because of the clarity of Austen’s prose and the way she contextualizes the details of her day.
Have a tolerable day, Janeites! Run through the mud like your sister’s happiness and health depended upon it!
Jane Austen Society of North America - New Jersey Region 