Pride and Prejudice

"You must allow me to tell you how ardently I admire and love you" 

This is a novel which I am not going to do you the insult of presenting. As much as I love contemporary literature (very much easier to read let's face it), I do believe everyone should read at least one classic literary novel in their life. And if I could advise you one, that would definitely be Pride and Prejudice. Jane Austen has a way of depicting the English society of the 19th century that is truly fascinating and unique. 

You follow the tortured love story of a sister, while the other one lives a peaceful idyl, that is soon marred by the love story of the first sister. Yeah I know, seems complicated to follow. But I can assure you once you've started, you can't stop. Every character has their time and place to shine, and you're not even mad not to read about their stories and feelings equally thanks to the wonderful writing style of Jane Austen. 

Let's not forget that this novel is a critique of the Enfish Society during the 19th century, more specifically of the place women had in it and how they were perceived by the dominant gender : men (my fellow feminist girlies, this one's for you !). Indeed, Elisabeth Bennet represents the antipode of the perfect woman at the time : intelligent, rebellious, free, not conforming to the beauty standards and dreamy. What was threatening for men at this period but so enjoyable for us now,  was that Elisabeth knew she deserved better than what they were offering her (that's to say her cousin). She knew what she wanted, fought for her opinions, and rejected a man who wasn't doing enough for her. 

But obviously, love always wins and Elisabeth and her big sister Jane (yeah, like the author) find love in the end, and live happily ever after. 

Long story short, this novel never gets old and easily makes its way to my top 5.