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    Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice
    Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice
    Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice
    Ebook174 pages1 hour

    Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice

    By Paula Parker

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    About this ebook

    “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife.”

    It is no exaggeration to say that Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice is one of the most beloved novels ever written in the English language. A 2003 BBC poll placed Pride and Prejudice in the #2 spot in their list of the “UK’s Best Loved Books, right behind Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. A 2008 Australian survey pegged Pride and Prejudice on top of the “101 Best Books Ever Written.” The novel is no less popular in the US, having spawned numerous film and stage adaptations including the 1940 version starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson and the 2005 version with Matthey MacFayden and Keira Knightley in her Oscar-nominated roll as Lizzy. The 1995 BBC mini-series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, popularized on PBS stations, is credited with spawning a renewed interest in Jane Austen among American teens. Amazingly, Jane Austen sold the copyright to Pride and Prejudice for the sum total of 110 Pounds Sterling, and never earned a penny in royalties.

    Paula K. Parker’s sparkling new stage adaptation of the beloved Jane Austen classic, Pride & Prejudice, pits the lovely but opinionated Lizzy Bennet against the handsome, wealthy, yet brooding and taciturn Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in a fencing match where reputations, family fortunes, and hearts are at stake.

    Middle Tennessee-based playwright, Paula K. Parker, adapted the novel with an eye for authenticity and a determination to maintain the integrity of the original work. “There is a tendency for some contemporary playwrights to inject their own values or agendas into the script when they adapt a popular novel for the stage or screen,” Ms. Parker declared. “But Jane Austen’s work stands on its own. Lizzy, Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Bennet, and Mr. Wickham are delightful characters as Jane Austen created them, without trying to infect them with 21st Century proclivities.”

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherWordCrafts Press
    Release dateDec 27, 2011
    ISBN9781466121904
    Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice

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      Book preview

      Jane Austen's Pride & Prejudice - Paula Parker

      JANE AUSTEN’S PRIDE & PREJUDICE

      by

      Paula K. Parker

      Published by WordCrafts Theatrical Press at Smashwords

      Copyright © 2011 Paula K. Parker

      Cover art - Lady in a Garden by Edmund Blair Leighton - Public Domain

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient. If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      This book is also available in print at most online retailers.

      CAUTION: Professionals and amateurs are hereby warned that performance of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is subject to payment of a royalty. It is fully protected under the copyright laws of the United States of America, and of all countries covered by the International Copyright Union. All rights, including professional, amateur, motion picture, public reading, broadcast, and any other reproduction by means known or yet to be discovered are strictly reserved.

      All rights are controlled exclusively by WordCrafts Theatrical Press, 912 East Lincoln Street, Tullahoma, Tennessee 37388. No performance of this play may be given without obtaining in advance the written permission of WordCrafts Theatrical Press, and paying the requisite fee.

      SPECIAL NOTE: Anyone receiving permission to produce Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice is required to give credit to the Author as the sole and exclusive Author of the Play on the title page of all programs distributed in connection with performances of the Play and in all instances in which the title of the Play appears for purposes of advertising, publicizing or otherwise exploiting the Play. The name of the Author must appear on a separate line, in which no other name appears, immediately beneath the title and in size of type equal to 50% of the size of the largest, most prominent letter used for the title of the Play. No person, firm or entity may receive credit larger or more prominent than that accorded the Author.

      Playwright’s Notes

      "It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife."

      Thus opens Pride and Prejudice, Miss Austen’s second – and arguably most popular – novel; pitting the lovely but opinionated Lizzy Bennet against the handsome, wealthy, yet brooding and taciturn Mr. Fitzwilliam Darcy in a fencing match where reputations, family fortunes, and hearts are at stake.

      A 2003 BBC poll placed Pride and Prejudice in the #2 spot in their list of the UK’s Best Loved Books, right behind Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings. A 2008 Australian survey pegged Pride and Prejudice on top of the 101 Best Books Ever Written. The novel is no less popular in the US, having spawned numerous film and stage adaptations including the 1940 version, starring Sir Laurence Olivier and Greer Garson, and the 2005 version with Matthew Macfadyen and Keira Knightley in her Oscar-nominated roll as Lizzy. The 1995 BBC mini-series with Colin Firth and Jennifer Ehle, popularized on PBS stations, is credited with spawning a renewed interest in Jane Austen among American teens. Amazingly, Jane Austen sold the copyright to Pride and Prejudice for the sum total of 110 Pounds Sterling, and never earned a penny in royalties.

      I love history and literature and adapted this novel with an eye for authenticity and a determination to maintain the integrity of the original work. There is a tendency for some contemporary playwrights to inject their own values or agendas into the script when they adapt a popular novel for the stage or screen. But Jane Austen’s work stands on its own. Lizzy, Mr. Darcy, Mrs. Bennet, and Mr. Wickham are delightful characters as Jane Austen created them, without trying to infect them with 21st Century proclivities.

      While I have intentionally declined to include set designs for this play, thus allowing theaters to accommodate the sets for their stage, I would note that Pride and Prejudice is a character-driven story and as such works well with a minimalist set of a few chairs and table. The original source material places the action in a variety of locations, and to maintain the integrity of the story I have set a number of scenes in those locations. Since more than half of the scenes take place in the Bennet parlor, theaters that have the space may wish to use a portion of the stage for a static scene of this location, and use a separate part of the stage for all other scenes. Grips dressed in period costume may be add to the atmosphere during scene changes. These are, of course, only suggestions. I have intentionally kept stage directions to a minimum, preferring instead to allow the director freedom to direct the play.

      - Paula K. Parker, playwright

      Characters

      (In Order of Appearance)

      Mr. Bennet: an older gentleman

      Jane Bennet: the eldest daughter

      Elizabeth Bennet: the second daughter

      Mary Bennet: the third daughter

      Kitty Bennet: the fourth daughter

      Lydia Bennet: the fifth daughter

      Mrs. Bennet: wife and mother

      Sir William Lucas: local squire

      Maria Lucas: youngest daughter

      Charlotte Lucas: eldest daughter

      Mr. Bingley: a wealthy young man

      Mrs. Hurst: his married sister

      Mr. Hurst: her husband

      Miss Bingley: his unmarried sister

      Mr. Darcy: his wealthy friend

      Hill: the Bennet’s maid

      Footman: at Netherfield

      Mr. Collins: relative to the Bennets, a clergyman

      Mr. Denny: young soldier

      Mr. Wickham: young soldier

      Lady Catherine De Bourgh: patron of Mr. Collins; Mr. Darcy’s aunt

      Colonel Fitzwilliam: Mr. Darcy’s relative

      Mr. Gardiner: Mrs. Bennet’s brother

      Mrs. Gardiner: his wife

      Mrs. Reynolds: housekeeper at Pemberley

      Maid: at the inn

      Georgiana Darcy: Mr. Darcy’s sister

      SCENES

      ACT I

      Scene 1 - The Bennet’s parlor

      Scene 2 - The Assembly Hall

      Scene 3 - The Bennet's parlor

      Scene 4 - A parlor at Netherfield

      Scene 5 - The Bennet parlor

      Scene 6 - Netherfield ballroom

      Scene 7 - The Bennet parlor

      Scene 8 - The Bennet parlor

      Scene 9 - The Collins’ parlor

      Scene 10 - A parlor in Rosings

      Scene 11 - The Collins’ parlor

      Scene 12 - Two desks and chairs

      ACT II

      Scene 1 - The Bennet Parlor

      Scene 2 - A parlor at Pemberley

      Scene 3 - A parlor at Pemberley

      Scene 4 - The parlor at the inn

      Scene 5 - The Bennet parlor

      Scene 6 - The Bennet parlor

      Scene 7 - The Bennet’s parlor

      Scene 8 - The Bennet parlor

      Scene 9 - The Bennet parlor

      Scene 10 - The Bennet parlor

      Jane Austen’s

      Pride & Prejudice

      ACT I

      Scene 1

      SETTING: The

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