Fitzwilliam Darcy has had enough—enough of the ton and their speculations, enough of matchmaking mamas and their eager daughters, and enough of his family’s expectations that he will eventually marry his cousin Anne. Craving solitude and peace after discovering his sister with George Wickham in Ramsgate, he accepts an invitation to visit Netherfield Park from his friend Charles Bingley and travels to Hertfordshire, where he hopes Georgiana will recover from her disappointment in relative privacy.

The happily married Mr. Knightley and Emma are throwing a party at their country estate, bringing together distant relatives and new acquaintances—characters beloved by Jane Austen fans. Definitely not invited is Mr. Wickham, whose latest financial scheme has netted him an even broader array of enemies. As tempers flare and secrets are revealed, it’s clear that everyone would be happier if Mr. Wickham got his comeuppance. Yet they’re all shocked when Wickham turns up murdered—except, of course, for the killer hidden in their midst.

Tragedy has struck the Bennet sisters but they are greatly relieved when the anonymous kindness of a stranger means that they can remain together. In exchange for such charity, a monthly letter is required from each sister. It is a fortunate thing that Miss Elizabeth Bennet rather likes letter-writing, for she relishes the opportunity to relate to this unknown gentleman all her impressions and opinions regarding her changed circumstances.

Darcy and Bingley depart Netherfield Park, leaving Elizabeth Bennet acutely aware of the monotony of her life. Seeking a reprieve, she volunteers to serve as temporary companion to Mrs. Gardiner’s elderly aunt who lives in Lambton. Nothing turns out as Elizabeth expects, and she is forced to dig deep into her reserves of common sense, humor, and stubborn persistence to prove herself equal to the dreary circumstances.

Love is not the simple thing that novels and poetry speak of. It is by turns subtle and overwhelming. It may slip silently into your heart, or strike like a bolt of lightning.

Georgiana returned to Pemberley fresh from a highly successful London season, yet unmoved by any of the young men who lined up for introductions. Then, out of a terrible storm, there arrives a young French count with the face and address of an angel. Is this the one for which her heart has waited?

The death of one’s spirit should come with a great deal of noise: weeping and wailing, if not thunder or the roar of a fire. Elizabeth could not have imagined a spirit forced into darkness by something so mundane as the scratch of pen on paper. Elizabeth Bennet has been certain of many things in her life: her place in society, the love of her family, her ability to choose her own future, and her ability to accurately judge the character of those she meets. Three days after the Netherfield Ball, a near tragedy shakes that foundation.

In the spring of 1812, Elizabeth and Lydia are the only Bennet daughters still unmarried after the death of their father. Elizabeth's health and spirits worsen as she moves among relations as an unwanted, dependent sister. She returns to Mary and Mr. Collins at Longbourn to learn that the neighborhood gossip centers on the reclusive Mr. Darcy. Darcy and his sister live an isolated life in a small rented lodge near Netherfield after the events at Ramsgate. As Georgiana's health is failing, Darcy has his own regrets to bear.

One distressing night in Ramsgate, Elizabeth Bennet impulsively offers Georgiana Darcy aid. Scandalous rumors soon surround the ladies and Fitzwilliam Darcy, forcing Elizabeth and Darcy, strangers to each other, to marry. Darcy despises everything about his marriage to the daughter of an insignificant country gentleman with vulgar relations. Georgiana, humiliated after a near-elopement with George Wickham and full of Darcy pride, hates her new sister. Their family look upon Elizabeth with suspicion and do little to hide their sentiments.

Elizabeth Bennet is envious of her sister Jane. Not for her beauty or her disposition, but because her fairy godmother is everything that Elizabeth's is not. When Mr. Darcy insults Elizabeth's looks, Mildread Driftwort is incensed to hear her handiwork defamed. Now, instead of nursing the grievance herself, Elizabeth is forced to defend this conceited man who has no idea what he's done. After refusing to dance with her, he begins to experience a variety of inexplicable illnesses. Then something worse befalls him - he discovers he is falling in love with her.

Elizabeth Bennet inherits a stunning fortune. Mr. Darcy left Hertfordshire to escape his attraction to her—will her sudden wealth pull them together or drive them further apart? February of 1812 brings startling news to Longbourn; a distant relation has left Elizabeth an astonishing fortune. She is overwhelmed by a multitude of suitors in pursuit of her wealth but is determined to never marry a man who only loves her money.

Austen wrote, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like' and thus introduces the handsome, clever, rich - and flawed, Emma Woodhouse. Emma is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage; nothing however delights her more than matchmaking her fellow residents of Highbury. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.

In 1808, Elizabeth Bennet is young, curious, and in possession of an invitation to a London party which she ought not to attend. Unable to resist the temptation, Elizabeth indulges her wish to see a party of the beau monde and finds herself in a dangerous situation. She is saved from a desperate fate by Mr. Darcy of Pemberley, but relief is short-lived. Mr Gardiner arrives and demands satisfaction on behalf of his young niece’s honor.

Somehow, his hapless sister had begun a rumor that he was romantically attached to the penniless young woman, from an unheard-of and vulgar family, with whom duty and good sense forbade him from ever considering an alliance…but whose extraordinary wit and captivating eyes he had been entirely unable to banish from his thoughts.

Fitzwilliam Darcy is on the verge of proposing to Miss Elizabeth Bennet when he happens upon her diary in a field of bluebells. Though he knows he should not, he gives in to the temptation to read it and discovers a perspective on himself he had never before considered. Not only does Elizabeth not reciprocate his love, she considers him arrogant, insulting and disdainful. Her reasons, to his shame, are not entirely unfounded. Properly humbled, Darcy must decide what to do—walk away from his beloved forever or make the effort to please a woman worthy of being pleased.

Austen wrote, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like' and thus introduces the handsome, clever, rich - and flawed, Emma Woodhouse. Emma is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage; nothing however delights her more than matchmaking her fellow residents of Highbury. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.

When Catherine Morland, a country clergyman's daughter, is invited to spend a season in Bath with the fashionable high society, little does she imagine the delights and perils that await her. Captivated and disconcerted by what she finds, and introduced to the joys of "Gothic novels" by her new friend, Isabella, Catherine longs for mystery and romance. When she is invited to stay with the beguiling Henry Tilney and his family at Northanger Abbey, she expects mystery and intrigue at every turn.

Timeless Tales for Kids is an enchanting compilation of children's classic stories read by an all-star cast. Olivia Colman reads E. Nesbit's classic novel The Railway Children, a masterpiece in children's fiction wonderfully evoking a bygone age, packed with fun, excitement and adventure. Bill Nighy reads a much-loved children's classic, The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, which continues to delight young and old with its enchanting tale of witches, flying monkeys and magical shoes.

It is a truth universally acknowledged that one false step can involve a lady in endless ruin. On a rainy November day in 1811, Miss Elizabeth Bennet finds herself wondering why no one ever bothered to tell her about this. A few blithe steps on a morning walk taken after a succession of rain lead to unexpected events that irrevocably change the course of Elizabeth's life, placing her fate in the hands of the haughty and conceited Mr. Darcy - the last man in the world she had ever thought to marry.

With the exception of the terrible retreat from Afghanistan, none of England's many little wars have been so fatal in proportion to the number of those engaged as our first expedition to Burma. The Burman policy of carrying off every boat on the river, laying waste the whole country, and driving away the inhabitants and the herds, maintained our army as prisoners in Rangoon through the first wet season; and caused the loss of half the white officers and men first sent there.

Among Jane Austen's favorite novels, and a key work in the rise of Romanticism, Camilla follows the story of three young women, from childhood to young adulthood, and their pursuit of matrimony. Kind but naive Camilla is in love with Edgar Mandlebert, a handsome and noble young man. Intelligent Eugenia, destined to inherit her uncle's great wealth, is plagued with misfortune as she is left disfigured by smallpox and has men court her for financial gain only. Meanwhile their cousin, beautiful but selfish Indiana, never finds a fortune for her good looks.

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." So begins Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, an expanded edition of the beloved Jane Austen novel featuring all-new scenes of bone-crunching zombie mayhem.

Chapter by chapter, these ladies of Rosings Park take turns telling the tale from the moment Elizabeth Bennet sets foot in Hunsford, changing everything. Is Anne heartbroken or relieved to discover Mr. Darcy will never marry her? As an heiress, even a sickly one, she must have other suitors. Does Lady Catherine gracefully accept the defeat of her original plan or keep conniving? Will Anne’s health ever improve? And what really happened to her father?

What's Georgiana Darcy's story? Jane Austen tells us so little in Pride and Prejudice that we're left to wonder. How did the early loss of her parents shape Miss Darcy's character? And what about her near-disastrous affair with Mr. Wickham? Is that the true source of her shyness? She adores her brother and his new wife, Elizabeth, but will their guiding influence be enough to steer Georgiana clear of new trouble as she comes of age and falls in love again?

At the opening of The Claverings (1866) the beautiful Julia Brabazon jilts her lover Harry Clavering in order to make a marriage of convenience with a wealthy but dissolute earl. Harry licks his wounds, leaves London to train as a civil engineer, and falls in love with his employer's daughter, to whom he soon becomes engaged. But when Julia returns unexpectedly as a wealthy widow, the flame of Harry's old love is rekindled.

Having lost the family savings on risky investments, Richard Grey removes himself from family life and suffers a bout of depression. Feeling helpless and frustrated, his youngest daughter, Agnes, applies for a job as a governess to the children of a wealthy, upper-class, English family. Ecstatic at the thought that she has finally gained control and freedom over her own life, Agnes arrives at the Bloomfield mansion armed with confidence and purpose.

Written when women---and workers generally---had few rights in England, Agnes Grey exposes the brutal inequities of the rigid class system in mid-19th-century Britain. Agnes comes from a respectable middle-class family, but their financial reverses have forced her to seek work as a governess.

Set in English society before the 1832 Reform Bill, Wives and Daughters centers on the story of youthful Molly Gibson, brought up from childhood by her father. When he remarries, a new stepsister enters Molly's quiet life, the loveable, but worldly and troubling, Cynthia. The narrative traces the development of the two girls into womanhood within the gossiping and watchful society of Hollingford.

Probably the most shocking of the Brontës' novels, this novel had an instant and phenomenal success and is widely considered to be one of the first sustained feminist novels. A mysterious widow, Mrs. Helen Graham, arrives at Wildfell Hall, a nearby old mansion. A source of curiosity for the small community, the reticent Helen and her young son Arthur are slowly drawn into the social circles of the village.

Love is not the simple thing that novels and poetry speak of. It is by turns subtle and overwhelming. It may slip silently into your heart, or strike like a bolt of lightning.