January 2013 marks the 200th anniversary of the publication of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. I’ve been reading P&P (as those of us on intimate terms with the work sometimes refer to it) for 40 years, a fifth of its life. This puts me in a position to say something about its rise in popularity over the course of this period. Jane Austen has always had her fans, and Pride and Prejudice has always been the favorite of her novels, but in the last four decades (roughly coincident with the so-called “postmodern era”), Austen has achieved stardom and P&P, blockbuster status. What is it about Jane Austen — and Pride and Prejudice in particular — that meshes so well with our postmodern culture? Here are 10 reasons:
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