Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is an 1813 romantic novel by Jane Austen. It charts the emotional development of the protagonist Elizabeth Bennet, who learns the error of making hasty judgments and comes to appreciate the difference between the superficial and the essential. The comedy of the writing lies in the depiction of manners, education, marriage and money during the Regency era in Britain.
The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling
"Tom Jones" has been compared to Jane Austen's "Pride and Prejudice" in that both deal with the disputed inheritance of estates. This plot allows them to examine who possesses the right to wield authority. Both novels have virtuous men and women winning an inheritance despite coming from mixed social backgrounds, showing that they believe there is a compromise between authority stemming from birth and the emphasis on merit. Both authors also had anxiety about the state of social authority in England and cared deeply about their audiences.