Paper X - British Literature: 19th Century Study Material - Unit 1-3

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Aurora

Study material for an English literature course focused on British Literature of the 19th century, covering Unit 1 to Unit 3. It outlines the course structure and provides chapter-wise coverage for Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, including summaries for Chapters 1-8, 9-16, 17-26, 27-38, 39-50, 51-61, and a general discussion. The document also includes an introductory biographical overview of Jane Austen and background discussion on the novel’s development before Austen, emphasizing character-focused storytelling and the rise of realistic prose fiction through writers such as Addison and Steele, Bunyan, Defoe, and others.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryLiterature

FormatPDF

Pages142

Reading Time3 h 39 min

AccessFree to download

Unit-1 : Pride and Prejudice - Jane Austen

Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 1-8

Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 9-16

Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 17-26

Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 27-38

Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 39-50

Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 51-61

A General Discussion

1.0 Introduction

1.1 The Novel before Jane Austen

1.2 Introducing the Novel

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B.A. (Hons.) English Semester-IV | | --- | | | Core Course Paper X – British Literature: 19th Century Study Material : SM 1 (Unit 1-3) | SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING
UNIVERSITY OF DELHI | | | --- | --- | Department of English Paper-X – American Literature: 19th Century Study Material-1: Unit 1-3 Contents Unit-1 : Jane Austen Pride and Prejudice Unit-2 : Charles Dickens Great Expectations Unit-3 : Charlotte Bronte Jane Eyre SCHOOL OF OPEN LEARNING UNIVERSITY OF DELHI 5, Cavalry Lane, Delhi-110007 01 75 101 Paper X – British Literature: 19th Century Unit-1 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen Contents: Unit-1 : Pride and Prejudice – Jane Austen Unit-2 : Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 1-8 Unit-3 : Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 9-16 Unit-4 : Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 17-26 Unit-5 : Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 27-38 Unit-6 : Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 39-50 Unit-7 : Chapter-wise Summary : Chapter 51-61 Unit-8 : A General Discussion Prepared by: Usha Anand 2 Unit-1 Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen | 1.0 Introduction | | --- | | Jane Austen was born on 16th December, 1775 at Steventon. Her father was the rector of the place. Jane - was the youngest of seven children, and her life was singularly tranquil and uneventful. Occasional visits to a theatre and rare visit to Bath and London broke the monotony of her home life. She was a great reader, knew something of modern languages, and was an excellent needle woman,“especially in satin stitch”. Little, however, is known of her inner life.
In person she was “a tall, slender, clear-brunette,” with hazel eyes, good features and curly brown hair in temperament cool, detached, reserved and keenly humorous. We have no evidence of any emotional crisis in her life. She never went beyond the mild flirtations of the countryside that accompanied dancing and tea-making and theatricals. She died in 1817 of consumption and was buried at Winchester.
Miss Austen’s range was narrow and as she never ventured beyond her own experience and powers, she achieved, as no other English novelist has ever achieved, an even level of perfection. Her books are composed of the most commonplace materials and are wholly lacking in all the elements of great passion and powerful action. They are therefore slight in texture. But her touch was so sure, her humor so subtle, her characterization so life-like that all competent critics regard her as one of the finest English novelists.
In all she wrote six novels: “Pride and Prejudice”, 1796-97; “Northanger Abbey”, 1798:“Sense and Sensibility”, 1797; “Mansfield Park”, 1814, and “Emma”, 1816, “Persuasion”, 1817. | | 1.1 The Novel before Jane Austen | The faculty for telling stories is the oldest faculty in the world. All early poetry is simply story-telling in verse. Stories are the first literary interest of a child. The drama dates from the pre-historic times, so does the epic, the ballad and the lyric. The novel as we know it dates, practically speaking, from 1740, though there was literary story-telling long before that. There were medieval romances in prose and verse. None of these however, approaches the essence of the novel as we know it. They are all just strings of incidents; they take no account of character, without which we cannot have a successful novel. This interest in character was first awakened in the 17th century. The age began to take a deep and curious interest in men’s lives: biography was written for the first time and so was autobiography. This has a direct bearing on the birth of the novel, but Character in an ancestor in the direct line. At the heels of the Character came the periodical essays of Addison and Steele. They introduce you to Sir roger de Coverley and to a number of other typed characters. You are made aware of different traits in his character and those of his friends one by one. Each trait is illustrated by some incident. You get to know them g

FAQs

What does Unit 1 cover in this British Literature study material?

Unit 1 covers Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, including chapter-wise summaries for multiple chapter ranges and a concluding general discussion.

When was Pride and Prejudice published, and when was the first draft written?

Pride and Prejudice was published in 1813, while the first draft was written as early as 1796.

How does the document describe the development of the novel before Jane Austen?

It explains that early story-telling forms existed long before, and argues that the novel as known relies on character rather than just sequences of incidents, tracing influences through biography, autobiography, periodical essays, and realistic prose fiction.

Sep 20, 2026

Uploaded by Aurora