Top Ten Tips for Presenting Architecture Information

• September 14, 2009
• By Jeff Ryan
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Introduction

Several years ago, a colleague and I prepared an impressive PowerPoint deck (so we thought) on architecture blueprinting to share with an executive. As you can imagine, we barely got through three pages of the deck at the meeting and didn't effectively communicate our message or its relevance.

Fortunately, we were given a second chance. The next time we met, I vowed to try something different. Rather than trying to present information from an 80 page deck, I condensed the information relevant to this executive into a one page thumbnail of the overall blueprinting process with sample content from his automation portfolio. The approach I chose was to use this simple handout on legal size paper to facilitate a meaningful conversation.

It worked. The executive was intrigued by the one page hand out and directed the conversation so he could understand the overall approach, the relevant detail, and insights gained. We conveyed all of the information we wanted within the hour meeting (and then some). We were even able to point out some of the supporting detail from the 80 page deck now that we had set the overall context.

I stumbled upon a successful approach, but didn't know precisely why until I attended a seminar on Presenting Data and Information by Edward Tufte a few months later. I sat in awe at the seminar as Tufte presented time proven principles of analytical design and patterns for effectively presenting data and information.

I'm sure you have had experiences similar to mine; some positive and some where you wish you could press the rewind button and start over again. In this article I would like to share ten tips for effective presentation of architectural information I've learned from Tufte and others (sometimes the hard way) which have helped me and will hopefully help you become a better software architect.

The top ten tips we will examine are:

1. Know Your Audience
2. Carefully Choose Your Approach
3. Set the Context
4. Increase the Information Resolution
5. Show Data on a Universal Grid
6. Use Small Multiples
7. Recognize that Content is King
8. Leverage Industry Standard Notation Techniques
9. Incorporate Relevant Facts and Figures
10. Follow the Particular, General, Particular Pattern

1. Know Your Audience

The first tip for effectively communicating architectural information is to know your audience.

When I met with the executive on blueprinting, I knew he was extremely intelligent, had very little time, and sometimes very little patience. I also knew he was very interested in an objective assessment of his automation portfolio and wanted a road map for addressing shortcomings and risks. The simple one page document addressed the questions he had on his mind, engaged his intellect and let him use his precious time the way he wanted by letting him drive the conversation.

Essentially, what you must do is ask "What's In It For Me?" or WIIFM from the perspective of the audience. This enables you to communicate your message in a way that will best engage and resonate with the receiver.

WIIFM is the first thing I do when writing for IT professionals. You might notice in the lead to the article I always pose questions that I believe are relevant to the architects, developers and project managers who are reading them. Once I've posed a question in the readers mind, I've started to engage his thought process and it is my hope that he will be motivated to read on if these questions are relevant. Most IT professionals are pressed for time, so I try to make the information as consumable and digestible as possible. My goal is to provide something practical the reader can apply right away by the end of the article so he doesn't feel he wasted the time invested in reading it.

2. Carefully Choose Your Approach

The second tip is to carefully choose the approach to most effectively communicate architecture information to your audience.

There are many different mediums for communicating your message. For example, the best method to convey information in a given situation might be white boarding, writing a white paper, creating slides, giving a speech (with or without slides) or even simply having a conversation. You should tailor the approach to the type of information being presented and the audience being presented to.

On many occasions, I've found that white boarding best engages the audience. White boarding causes you to withhold information that the audience is eager to understand. You slowly reveal this information as you draw and explain the diagram. When the audience asks questions, it is very easy in real time to address them by annotating or expanding the drawing.

Other times a short white paper is best. This can be circulated among a large group of stakeholders. It can be used for independent reading, small group meetings or for presentations to a large group. It can also be used to track revisions and gain sign off by key stakeholders.

I often see colleagues jump to crafting slides before they have considered the audience, purpose or approach. This is a case of "if the only tool you have is a hammer, then every problem becomes a nail". As you can see, there are many other tools to consider for the communication problem at hand and slides are only one of many tools.

That being said, sometimes slides will be the best means for presenting architectural information to your audience. But don't jump there without considering other approaches first. When you do choose to create slides, many of the patterns and principles below will help them to be more effective.

3. Set the Context

The third tip is to set the context for the information being presented to your audience using the chosen approach.

When you are given a window of opportunity to present architecture information, you have to remember that the audience has not been fully immersed in the problem space you are in. Even though you may have met with them in the past, they may not immediately recall each occasion, what was discussed, the decisions made or the follow up items promised. It is your duty to remind them. I've seen so many meetings go awry because the meeting context wasn't established at the beginning. This often results in a déjà vu meeting. When meeting with the executive on blueprinting the second time, we reminded him of what he asked for, humbly admitted our past failing in addressing what he needed and our response.

Context also needs to be established for the information being presented. In writing or developing slides, it is helpful to show how your material relates to a continuum of time, industry benchmarks, trends and the like. This enables the audience to make comparisons and put things in the proper frame of reference.

A pattern which is often used to establish context is the master-detail pattern. The master view might be presented up front as an overall diagram, providing the context for the information and the detail areas to be examined. The consumer of the information will understand up front the areas to be discussed, the sequence that they will be discussed, and during the discussion which area of detail is being examined. This often helps the audience better consume the content being presented through a meeting, slides, or paper because they understand the bigger picture up front. The list of ten tips in the introduction to this article is an example of the master-detail pattern although a diagram was not used.

4. Increase the Information Resolution

The fourth tip is to increase the information resolution of the presentation materials. Information resolution is the amount of information conveyed on a given page. When increasing the resolution, it should be done using the least amount of ink possible.

One of the humorous portions of attending a seminar by Edward Tufte is his example of what Lincoln's Gettysburg Address would have been like if he used the PowerPoint wizard. This is an excellent case of an anti-pattern for presenting data and information and in decreasing information resolution. The reason why this approach fails is because the human mind can absorb vastly more information than is communicated on a typical PowerPoint page with six bullets per page and cheesy graphics which Tufte calls chart junk.

One of the reasons my one page summary on legal size paper worked was the executive quickly grasped the essential information and was hungry to learn more about the additional detail behind it. The handout itself provided the overall context of the blueprinting process we developed as well as much relevant detail. Although I didn't know it at the time, I dramatically increased the information resolution through this hand out as compared to the 80 page deck.

Initially, I stumbled upon this one page summary format. Now it has become a reusable pattern I've used to communicate architecture viewpoints, reference architecture, roles and responsibilities, solution continuum, etc. If you visit my office, you will see many such diagrams I've used to present architectural information. Each diagram is different, but tells a story by creating a scaled down thumbnail of relevant architecture artifacts and incorporating the graphics with text, thereby increasing the information resolution for the audience.

5. Show Data on a Universal Grid

The fifth tip I've learned is to show data on a universal grid. If the intended audience needs to repeatedly consume similar information, it is important to help them parse this information as easily as possible.

A universal grid pattern I regularly use is to show the conceptual diagram for an n-tier architecture with the same layers and background colors. Once the audience is familiar with the presentation, service, component and resource layers, it is easier for them to understand the application being depicted and how it is being modified. After the first presentation, they understand the layers and architecture principles behind depicting an application in this way. The one page diagram on architecture blueprinting included two scaled down n-tier layered diagrams. The executive quickly grasped what was being shown here.

Figure 1 - N-Tier Layered Universal Grid Example

Some might say that depicting particular types of architecture diagrams across a universal grid stifles the creativity of the architect. I don't share this view. I would rather the architect channel their creativity into coming up with the best overall solution to meet short and long term business needs than to be fiddling with colors and diagram formats. That being said, sometimes the so called "universal" diagram doesn't depict the problem space or solution particularly well. In that case, it is perfectly acceptable to use another format.

6. Use Small Multiples

The sixth tip I've learned is to use small multiples. Small multiples are a series of small pictures, usually on one page, which graphically illustrate changes to an object or set of objects.

Part of the job of an architect is to develop a thoughtful plan for how a system will evolve over time. This presents a particular problem. When you add the dimension of time, it becomes difficult to show architecture diagrams in a way that the audience will understand the evolutionary steps.

Small multiples solve this problem. When I do architecture blueprinting, I need to show the current state, future state and transition plan of a system. I use the n- tier layered universal grid mentioned above to show each point in time view. Then I scale these diagrams down so the proposed transition can easily be understood on a single page.

Figure 2 - Small Multiple Architecture Transition Plan Example

At the time I was speaking with the executive on blueprinting, I hadn't yet learned about small multiples nor how to apply them in a software architecture context. We walked him through pages of transition plan scenarios in the 80 page deck. I've recently started using small multiples for showing architectural transition plans on a single page. The insight that this provided the business and IT stakeholders was astounding, particularly because you could visually see the transition over time on one page and understand how systems targeted for sunset were being phased out as projects were being executed.

7. Recognize that Content is King

The seventh tip is that content is king. If you don't have good content, the other tips don't really matter.

Your audience has a responsibility to be a good consumer of information. As they ask questions, check your references and look for supporting detail, if they find contradictions and unsupported conclusions, your message loses credibility and you lose your integrity. It is better to have good content and an unrefined presentation than to have poor content with what at the surface appears to be spit and polish.

8. Leverage Industry Standard Notation Techniques

The eighth tip is to leverage industry standard notation techniques when presenting architecture information.

The Unified Modeling Language or UML includes a set of graphical notation techniques for representing software systems. Use case, class, sequence, component, deployment and other UML diagrams are commonly used from white board sketches to sophisticated tools. Although some of the notations are for object oriented analysis and design, to a large degree the notations are technology agnostic and can be used for analysis, design and documentation of mainframe, client server and net centric architectures.

If you find yourself using a homegrown notation, you should ask yourself why you are not using an industry standard one. You are forcing your audience to both learn a new notation, and to understand your content. It would be much easier for them to take the notation for granted and simply focus on the content.

An anti-pattern I see very often is diagrams which attempt to show dynamic behavior, but are ambiguous and subject to misinterpretation. On the other hand, UML sequence or collaboration diagrams are time proven, clearly illustrate system behavior and can be understood by a wide audience.

You would think that UML would only be effective with an IT audience familiar with the notation. This is generally true because it is a common language IT professionals speak. However, on occasion, I've found that even business partners have been interested in sequence and deployment diagrams when they wanted to understand a particular problem. Although they had to learn both the notation and the content, the time proven notation could be picked up quickly.

9. Incorporate Relevant Facts and Figures

The ninth tip is to incorporate relevant facts and figures into your presentation. The data presented should be key evidence supporting your conclusions.

Choosing the right facts to focus on can be both an art and a science. There may be standard metrics which are relevant such as transactions per second in a performance test, average handle time in a contact center optimization project or the number of applications in a software portfolio for architecture blueprinting.

When standard metrics aren't available, you will have to use your creativity to find the right metrics for your message. One of my favorite examples is a project some years back where the customer had more typewriters than terminals and more filing cabinet storage than databases. Building a business case to bring this profitable business out of the stone age was easy once these precise facts were known by key stakeholders.

All facts must be thoroughly checked and there should be supporting detail which you can point the audience to. Otherwise, the lack of evidence supporting your conclusions will fail to inform, persuade or convince your audience.

10. Follow the Particular, General, Particular Pattern

The final tip is to follow the particular, general, particular pattern for presenting complex information. This pattern begins with a specific, particular, concrete example. From this example, you then make general observations. Finally, you conclude with another particular example to reinforce your point.

If you begin presenting technical information with general observations, it can come across as ideological and irrelevant to the audience. If you first begin with a specific situation that the audience can relate to, it will draw them in. Then they will understand and relate to the general observations made. A final specific situation at the end will provide the repetition of the points and help the audience understand the relevance.

In some sense, this article used the Particular, General, Particular pattern. The specific example of my failed and later successful attempt at communicating architectural information with an executive was used to convey ten general tips I'm learning to put to use. Other particular examples were used in the principles and patterns reviewed in the ten tips.

Summary

A successful software architect must learn how to effectively communicate technical information to stakeholders. Every architect will struggle at times in finding the best way to convey important information to peers, partners and decision makers.

Experience is the best teacher and the best way to learn is to do. It is also helpful to look over the shoulder of colleagues and to learn from their failures and successes. As a fellow architect, I've presented some of the principles and patterns I've learned to apply, sometimes the hard way.

We reviewed ten top tips to get you started including knowing your audience, choosing your approach, setting the context, increasing the information resolution and so on. This is a good starter list for improving your technical communications. It is by no means exhaustive. At the end of the article you will find recommended resources to learn from a true master at presenting data and information, Edward Tufte.

Have you ever struggled to communicate architectural information with stakeholders? Do you recognize that presenting architectural information is a core competency of an architect? As you leverage architecture design patterns and principles to craft a solution, have you considered the proven patterns and principles for presenting this solution to stakeholders?

If your answer is no to any of these questions, consider using the top ten tips to help you the next time you need to present architectural information to stakeholders. The rest is up to you!

Recommended Resources

Anyone wanting to learn more about principles and patterns for presenting data and information would do well to study the work of Edward Tufte. His website, http://www.edwardtufte .com, provides information about his books, essays and seminars.

About the Author

Jeff Ryan is an enterprise architect with over twenty five years experience architecting and implementing thoughtful solutions to business problems. Jeff has studied the work of Edward Tufte and is learning how to apply his timeless principles of presenting data and information in a software architecture context. This article reflects Jeff's experience in applying Tufte concepts and principles. Click here to browse Jeff's catalog of articles on enterprise architecture, front end architecture, portal, SOA, Java, XML and XSLT.

Pride and Prejudice

Pride and Prejudice
Author	Jane Austen
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Genre(s)	Novel of manners
Publisher	T. Egerton, Whitehall
Publication date	28 January 1813
Media type	Print (Hardback, 3 volumes)
ISBN	NA

Pride and Prejudice is a novel by Jane Austen. First published on 28 January 1813, it was her second published novel. Its manuscript was initially written between 1796 and 1797 in Steventon, Hampshire, where Austen lived in the rectory. Originally called First Impressions, it was never published under that title, and in following revisions it was retitled Pride and Prejudice.^[1]

The book is narrated in free indirect speech following the main character Elizabeth Bennet as she deals with matters of upbringing, marriage, moral rightness and education in her aristocratic society. Though the book's setting is uniquely turn of the 19th century, it remains a fascination of modern readership, continuing to remain at the top of lists titled "most loved books of all time", and receiving considerable attention from literary critics. This modern interest has resulted in a number of dramatic adaptations and a plethora of books developing Austen's memorable characters further.

To date, the book has sold some 20 million copies worldwide.^[2]

Contents [hide] 1 Background 1.1 Title 1.2 Narration 2 Plot summary 3 Main characters 3.1 Interrelationships 4 Major themes 5 Style 6 Publication history 7 Reception 7.1 Modern popularity 8 Artistic Adaptations 8.1 Film, TV or theatre 8.2 Literature 9 References 10 External links

Background

Title

The novel was originally titled First Impressions by Jane Austen, and was written between October 1796 and August 1797.^[3] Her first bid for publication was rejected. However Austen made significant revisions to the manuscript for First Impressions between 1811 and 1812.^[3] She later renamed the story Pride and Prejudice. In renaming the novel, Austen probably had in mind the "sufferings and oppositions" summarized in the final chapter of Fanny Burney's Cecilia, called "Pride and Prejudice", where the phrase appears three times in block capitals.^[4] It is possible that the novel's original title was altered to avoid confusion with other works. This version of the book was published in 1813.

Narration

The novel is narrated in free indirect speech and follows twenty-year-old Elizabeth Bennet. She is the second eldest of the five daughters of a relatively poor country gentleman in the fictional town of Meryton in Hertfordshire, England.

Plot summary

As the novel opens, Mr Bingley, a wealthy young gentleman, rents a country estate near the Bennets called Netherfield. He arrives in town accompanied by his two fashionable sisters and his good friend, Mr Darcy. While Bingley is well-liked in the community, Darcy begins his acquaintance with the town with smug condescension and proud distaste for all of the country people. Bingley and Jane begin to grow close despite Mrs Bennet's embarrassing interference and the opposition of Bingley's sisters, who believe Jane to be socially inferior. Elizabeth is stung by Darcy's haughty rejection of her at a local dance and decides to match his coldness with her own wit.

At the same time, Elizabeth begins a friendship with Mr Wickham, a militia officer who relates a prior acquaintance with Darcy. Wickham tells her that he has seriously been mistreated by Darcy. Elizabeth immediately seizes upon this information as another, more concrete reason to hate Darcy. Unbeknown to her, Darcy finds himself gradually drawn to Elizabeth.

Just as he appears to be on the point of proposing marriage, Bingley leaves Netherfield, which leaves Jane confused and upset. Elizabeth is convinced that Bingley's sisters have conspired with Darcy to separate Jane and Bingley.

Before Bingley leaves, Mr Collins, the male relative who is to inherit Longbourn, makes a sudden appearance and stays with the Bennets. He is a recently ordained clergyman employed by the wealthy and patronizing Lady Catherine de Bourgh. Though he was partially entreated to visit by his patroness, Collins has another reason for visiting: he wishes to find a wife from among the Bennet sisters. He immediately enters pursuit of Jane, however when Mrs Bennet mentions her preoccupation with Mr Bingley, he turns to Elizabeth. He soon proposes marriage to Elizabeth, who refuses him, much to her mother's distress. Collins immediately makes another proposal and marries Elizabeth's close friend, Charlotte Lucas, who invites Elizabeth to stay with them.

In the spring, Elizabeth joins Charlotte and her cousin at his parish in Kent. The parish is adjacent to Rosings Park, the grand manor of Mr Darcy's aunt, Lady Catherine de Bourgh, where Elizabeth is frequently invited. While calling on Lady Catherine, Mr Darcy encounters Elizabeth and after several further meetings, he admits his love of Elizabeth and proposes to her. Insulted by his high-handed and insulting manner of proposing, Elizabeth refuses him. When he asks why she should refuse him, she confronts him with his sabotage of Bingley's relationship with Jane and Wickham's account of their dealings.

Deeply shaken by Elizabeth's vehemence and accusations, Darcy writes her a letter justifying his actions. The letter reveals that Wickham cheated him and in order to exact revenge and acquire part of Darcy's fortune, he attempted to seduce Darcy's young sister Georgiana, almost persuading her to elope with him. Darcy also justifies his actions towards Bingley and Jane by explaining that as Jane did not visibly show any reciprocal interest in his friend, his aim in separating them was mainly to protect Bingley from heartache. Darcy also admits he was concerned about the potential disadvantageous association with Elizabeth's embarrassing mother and wild younger sisters. As a result of the letter, Elizabeth is prompted to question both her family's behaviour and Wickham's credibility, and comes to the conclusion that Wickham is not as trustworthy as his easy manners would indicate and her early impressions of Darcy may not have been accurate. Soon after receiving the letter Elizabeth returns home.

Elizabeth tells her father that Darcy was responsible for uniting Lydia and Wickham. This is one of the two earliest illustrations of Pride and Prejudice.^[5]

Some months later, during a tour of Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle, Elizabeth visits Pemberley, Darcy's estate. Darcy's housekeepers, an old lady that has known Darcy since childhood, presents Elizabeth and her relatives with a flattering and benevolent impression of his character. Unexpectedly, Darcy arrives at Pemberly as they tour its grounds. He makes an effort to be gracious and welcoming to them, thus strengthening Elizabeth's newly favourable impression of him. Darcy then introduces Elizabeth to his sister Georgiana. He treats her uncle and aunt very well, and finds them of a more sound character then her other relatives which he previously dismissed as socially inferior.

Elizabeth and Darcy's renewed acquaintance is cut short when news arrives that Elizabeth's younger sister Lydia has run away with Wickham. Initially, the Bennets believes that Wickham and Lydia have eloped, but soon it is surmised that Wickham has no plans to marry Lydia. Lydia's antics threaten the family's reputation and the Bennet sisters with social ruin. Elizabeth and her aunt and uncle hurriedly leave Derbyshire, and Elizabeth is convinced that Darcy will avoid her from now on.

Soon, thanks to the intervention of Elizabeth's uncle, Lydia and Wickham are found and married. After the marriage, Wickham and Lydia make a visit to Longbourne. While bragging to Elizabeth, Lydia comments that Darcy was present at the wedding. Surprised, Elizabeth sends an inquiry to her aunt, from whom she discovers that Darcy was responsible for both finding the couple and arranging their marriage at great expense to himself.

Soon after, Bingley and Darcy return to the area. Bingley proposes marriage to Jane, and this news starts rumors that Darcy will propose to Elizabeth. Lady Catherine travels to Longbourn with the sole aim of confronting Elizabeth and demanding that she never accept such a proposal. Elizabeth refuses to bow to Lady Catherine's demands. When news of this obstinance reaches Darcy, it convinces him that her opinion of him has changed. When he visits, he once again proposes marriage. Elizabeth accepts, and the two become engaged.

The final chapters of the book establish the future of the characters. Elizabeth and Darcy settle at Pemberley where Mr Bennet visits often. Mrs Bennet remains frivolous and silly, and often visits the new Mrs Bingley and talking of the new Mrs Darcy. Later, Jane and Bingley move from Netherfield to avoid Jane's mother and Meryton relations and to locate near the Darcys in Derbyshire. Elizabeth and Jane manage to teach Kitty greater social grace, and Mary learns to accept the difference between herself and her sisters' beauty and mixes more with the outside world. Lydia and Wickham continue move often, leaving their debts for Jane and Elizabeth to pay off. At Pemberley, Elizabeth and Georgiana grow close, though Georgiana is surprised by Elizabeth's playful treatment of Darcy. Lady Catherine stays very angry with her nephew's marriage but over time the relationship between the two is repaired and she eventually decides to visit them. Elizabeth and Darcy also remain close with her uncle and aunt.

Main characters

[show]Character genealogy
Mr Hurst Mrs Hurst Mr Philips Caroline Bingley Mrs Philips Mr Charles Bingley Mrs Gardiner Jane Bennet Mr Gardiner Elizabeth Bennet Mrs Bennet Mary Bennet Mr Bennet Catherine "Kitty" Bennet Mr William Collins Lydia Bennet Charlotte Lucas Mr George Wickham (Old) Mr Darcy Mr Fitzwilliam Darcy Lady Anne Darcy Georgiana Darcy Lady Catherine De Bourgh Anne De Bourgh Lord —— Colonel Fitzwilliam

• Elizabeth Bennet is the main female protagonist. The reader sees the unfolding plot and the other characters mostly from her viewpoint.^[6] The second of the Bennet daughters at twenty years old, she is portrayed as intelligent, lively, attractive, and witty, with her faults being a tendency to judge on first impressions and perhaps being a little selective of the evidence she uses to base her judgments upon. As the plot begins, her closest relationships are with her father, her sister Jane, her aunt Mrs Gardiner, and her neighbour Charlotte Lucas.

• Fitzwilliam Darcy is the main male protagonist. Twenty-eight years old and unmarried, Darcy is the wealthy owner of the famously superior estate Pemberley in Derbyshire. Portrayed as handsome, tall, and intelligent, but not convivial, his concern with decorum and moral rectitude is seen by many as an excessive concern for social status. He makes a poor impression on strangers, such as the people of Meryton, but is valued by those who know him well.

• Mr Bennet has a wife and five daughters. Portrayed as a bookish and intelligent man somewhat withdrawn from society and one who dislikes the frivolity of his wife and three younger daughters, he offers nothing but mockery by way of correction. Rather than trying to lead his younger daughters down a more sensible path, he is rather content to laugh at them.

• Mrs Bennet is the wife of Mr Bennet and mother of Elizabeth and her sisters. She is frivolous, excitable, and narrow-minded. She is susceptible to attacks of tremors and palpitations, and her public manners are embarrassing to her eldest daughters. Her favourite daughter is the youngest, Lydia.

Lady Catherine confronts Elizabeth about Darcy, on the title page of the first illustrated edition. This is the other of the first two illustrations of the novel.

• Jane Bennet is the eldest Bennet sister. Twenty-two years old when the novel begins, she is considered the most beautiful young lady in the neighbourhood. Her character is contrasted with Elizabeth's as sweeter, shyer, and equally sensible, but not as clever; her most notable trait is a desire to see only the good in others. Jane is closest to Elizabeth. She, at the end, marries Mr Bingley.

• Mary Bennet is the middle Bennet sister, aged around eighteen. The only plain one of the five, she strives to be the most accomplished. She spends most of her time reading and studying, but without understanding.

• Catherine "Kitty" Bennet is the fourth Bennet sister, aged seventeen. Portrayed as a less headstrong but equally silly shadow of Lydia.

• Lydia Bennet is the youngest Bennet sister, aged fifteen. She is repeatedly described as frivolous and headstrong. Her main activity in life is socialising, especially flirting with the military officers stationed in the nearby town of Meryton. She dominates her older sister Kitty and is supported in the family by her mother. She later marries Mr Wickham.

• Charles Bingley is a young gentleman without an estate; his wealth was made by trade and he is seeking a permanent home. He rents the Netherfield estate near Longbourn when the novel opens. Twenty-two years old at the start of the novel, handsome, good-natured, and wealthy, he is contrasted with his friend Darcy as being less intelligent but kinder and more charming, and hence more popular in Meryton. He lacks resolve and is easily influenced by others.

• George Wickham is an old acquaintance of Darcy, and an officer in the militia unit stationed near Meryton. A superficially charming man, he forms a friendship with Elizabeth Bennet, prompting many to remark upon his suitability as a potential husband. He spreads numerous tales about the wrongs Darcy has done to him, colouring the popular perception of the other man in local society; it is eventually revealed that these tales are distortions, and that Darcy was the more wronged man in their acquaintance.

• William Collins is Mr Bennet's cousin and a clergyman, aged twenty-five. Since Mr Bennet has no sons, Collins is in line to inherit Mr Bennet's estate. Austen described him as "not a sensible man, and the deficiency of nature had been but little assisted by education or society". Collins is thought to be naively stupid by Mr Bennet, and Elizabeth rejects his marriage proposal. She is very distressed when her friend Charlotte Lucas decides to marry Collins out of desire for a settled position and to avoid being an old maid rather than from love. Collins constantly boasts about his acquaintance with the wealthy and pompous Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

• Lady Catherine De Bourgh is haughty, pompous, egotistical, and domineering. Because of her wealth and social standing she believes she can command everyone around her. People such as Mr Collins contribute to this personality by acting as sycophants who bow to her every command. Her nephew Darcy initially does whatever his aunt requests out of respect for her, but by the end of the text, he makes the choice to go against her wishes and marry Elizabeth.

• Mr Gardiner is Mrs Bennet's brother, and is quite sensible and gentlemanlike. He tries to help Lydia when she elopes with Wickham. His wife has close relationships with Elizabeth and Jane. Jane stays with the Gardiners in London for a while, and Elizabeth travels with them to Derbyshire, where she again meets Darcy.

Interrelationships

A comprehensive web showing the relationships between the main characters in Pride and Prejudice

Major themes

Many critics take the novel's title as a starting point when analysing the major themes of Pride and Prejudice; however, Robert Fox cautions against reading too much into the title since commercial factors may have played a role in its selection. "After the success of Sense and Sensibility, nothing would have seemed more natural than to bring out another novel of the same author using again the formula of antithesis and alliteration for the title. It should be pointed out that the qualities of the title are not exclusively assigned to one or the other of the protagonists; both Elizabeth and Darcy display pride and prejudice."^[7]

A major theme in much of Austen's work is the importance of environment and upbringing on the development of young people's character and morality.^[4] Social standing and wealth are not necessarily advantages in her world, and a further theme common to Jane Austen's work is ineffectual parents. In Pride and Prejudice, the failure of Mr and Mrs Bennet (particularly the latter) as parents is blamed for Lydia's lack of moral judgment; Darcy, on the other hand, has been taught to be principled and scrupulously honourable, but is also proud and overbearing.^[4] Kitty, rescued from Lydia's bad influence and spending more time with her older sisters after they marry, is said to improve greatly in their superior society.^[8]

Style

Pride and Prejudice, like most of Jane Austen's works, employs the narrative technique of free indirect speech. This has been defined as "the free representation of a character's speech, by which one means, not words actually spoken by a character, but the words that typify the character's thoughts, or the way the character would think or speak, if she thought or spoke".^[6] By using narrative which adopts the tone and vocabulary of a particular character (in this case, that of Elizabeth), Austen invites the reader to follow events from Elizabeth's viewpoint, sharing her prejudices and misapprehensions. "The learning curve, while undergone by both protagonists, is disclosed to us solely through Elizabeth's point of view and her free indirect speech is essential... for it is through it that we remain caught, if not stuck, within Elizabeth's misprisions."^[6]

Publication history

The novel was originally titled First Impressions by Jane Austen, and was written between October 1796 and August 1797.^[3] On 1 November 1797 Austen's father gave the draft to London bookseller Thomas Cadell in hopes of it being published, but it was rejected.^[9] The unpublished manuscript was returned to Austen and it stayed with her.

Austen made significant revisions to the manuscript for First Impressions between 1811 and 1812.^[3] She later renamed the story Pride and Prejudice. In renaming the novel, Austen probably had in mind the "sufferings and oppositions" summarized in the final chapter of Fanny Burney's Cecilia, called "Pride and Prejudice", where the phrase appears three times in block capitals.^[4] It is possible that the novel's original title was altered to avoid confusion with other works. In the years between the completion of First Impressions and its revision into Pride and Prejudice, two other works had been published under that name: a novel by Margaret Holford and a comedy by Horace Smith.^[9]

Austen sold the copyright for the novel to Thomas Egerton of Whitehall in exchange for £110 (Austen had asked for £150).^[10] This proved a costly decision. Austen had published Sense and Sensibility on a commission basis, whereby she indemnified the publisher against any losses and received any profits, less costs and the publisher's commission. Unaware that Sense and Sensibility would sell out its edition, making her £140,^[9] she passed the copyright to Egerton for a one-off payment, meaning that all the risk (and all the profits) would be his. Jan Fergus has calculated that Egerton subsequently made around £450 from just the first two editions of the book.^[11]

Egerton published the first edition of Pride and Prejudice in three hardcover volumes in January 1813, priced at 18s.^[3] Favourable reviews saw this edition sold out, with a second edition published in November that year. A third edition was published in 1817.^[10]

Foreign language translations first appeared in 1813 in French; subsequent translations were published in German, Danish and Swedish.^[12] Pride and Prejudice was first published in the United States in August 1832 as Elizabeth Bennet or, Pride and Prejudice.^[10] The novel was also included in Richard Bentley's Standard Novel series in 1833. R. W. Chapman's scholarly edition of Pride and Prejudice, first published in 1923, has become the standard edition from which many modern publications of the novel are based.^[10]

Reception

The novel was well received, with three favourable reviews in the first months following publication.^[11] Jan Fergus calls it "her most popular novel, both with the public and with her family and friends",^[11] and quotes David Gilson's A Bibliography of Jane Austen (Clarendon, 1982), where it is stated that Pride and Prejudice was referred to as "the fashionable novel" by Anne Isabella Milbanke, later to be the wife of Lord Byron. However, others did not agree. Charlotte Brontë wrote to noted critic and reviewer George Henry Lewes after reading a review of his published in Fraser's Magazine in 1847. He had praised Jane Austen's work and declared that he, "...would rather have written Pride and Prejudice, or Tom Jones, than any of the Waverley Novels".^[13] Miss Brontë, though, found Pride and Prejudice a disappointment, "...a carefully fenced, highly cultivated garden, with neat borders and delicate flowers; but... no open country, no fresh air, no blue hill, no bonny beck."^[13]

Modern popularity

• In 2003 the BBC conducted the largest ever poll for the "UK's Best-Loved Book" in which Pride and Prejudice came second, behind The Lord of the Rings.^[14]
• In a 2008 survey of more than 15,000 Australian readers, Pride and Prejudice came first in a list of the 101 best books ever written.^[15]

Artistic Adaptations

Main article: List of artistic depictions of and related to Pride and Prejudice

Film, TV or theatre

Pride and Prejudice has engendered numerous adaptations. Some of the notable film versions include that of 1940 starring Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier,^[16] that of 2003 starring Kam Heskin and Orlando Seale,^[17] and that of 2005 starring Keira Knightley (in an Oscar-nominated performance) and Matthew Macfadyen.^[18] Notable television versions include two by the BBC: the 1995 version starring Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth, and a 1980 version starring Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. A 1936 stage version was created by Helen Jerome played at the St. James's Theatre in London, starring Celia Johnson and Hugh Williams. First Impressions was a 1959 Broadway musical version starring Polly Bergen, Farley Granger, and Hermione Gingold.^[19] In 1995, a musical concept album was written by Bernard J. Taylor, with Peter Karrie in the role of Mr Darcy and Claire Moore in the role of Elizabeth Bennet.^[20] A new stage production, Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, The New Musical, was presented in concert on 21 October 2008 in Rochester, New York with Colin Donnell as Darcy.^[21] In 2009, the proposal scene in which Darcy is rejected by Elizabeth Bennet was read by Dominic West in a reading for The Carte Noire Readers. The 2003 version placed the characters of Pride and Prejudice in a Mormon university and was directed by Andrew Black.^[22]

Literature

The novel has inspired a number of other works that are not direct adaptations. Books inspired by Pride and Prejudice include: Mr Darcy's Daughters and The Exploits and Adventures of Miss Alethea Darcy by Elizabeth Aston; Pemberley: Or Pride and Prejudice Continued and An Unequal Marriage: Or Pride and Prejudice Twenty Years Later by Emma Tennant; The Book of Ruth (ASIN B00262ZRBM) by Helen Baker; Pemberley Remembered by Mary Simonsen and Mr. Darcy Takes a Wife by Linda Berdoll. In Gwyn Cready's comedic romance novel, Seducing Mr. Darcy, the heroine lands in Pride and Prejudice by way of magic massage, has a fling with Darcy and unknowingly changes the rest of the story. Bridget Jones's Diary by Helen Fielding, which started as a newspaper column before becoming a novel and a film, was inspired by the then-current BBC adaptation; both works share a Mr Darcy of serious disposition (both played by Colin Firth), a foolish match-making mother, and a detached affectionate father. The self-referential in-jokes continue with the sequel, Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. Author Stephanie Meyer has said her best-selling teen novel Twilight, featuring a romance between a high school girl and a vampire, was influenced by the book. Bride and Prejudice, starring Aishwarya Rai, is a Bollywood adaptation of the novel, while Pride & Prejudice: A Latter-Day Comedy (2003) places the novel in contemporary times. The off-Broadway musical I Love You Because reverses the gender of the main roles, set in modern day New York City. The Japanese comic Hana Yori Dango by Yoko Kamio, in which the wealthy, arrogant and proud protagonist, Doumyouji Tsukasa, falls in love with a poor, lower-class girl named Makino Tsukushi, is loosely based on Pride and Prejudice. A 2008 Israeli television six-part miniseries set the story in the Galilee with Mr Darcy a well-paid worker in the high-tech industry.^[23]

Pride and Prejudice has also crossed into the science fiction and horror genres. In the 1997 episode of science fiction comedy Red Dwarf entitled "Beyond a Joke", the crew of the space ship relax in a virtual reality rendition of "Pride and Prejudice Land" in "Jane Austen World". The central premise of the television miniseries Lost in Austen is a modern woman suddenly swapping lives with that of Elizabeth Bennet. In February 2009, it was announced that Elton John's Rocket Pictures production company was making a film, Pride and Predator, based on the story, but with the added twist of an alien landing in Longbourne.^[24] In March 2009, Quirk Books released Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, which takes Austen's actual, original work, and laces it with zombie hordes, cannibalism, ninjas, and ultra-violent mayhem.^[25]

Pride and Prejudice has also inspired many scholarly articles and books including: So Odd a Mixture: Along the Autism Spectrum in 'Pride and Prejudice' ^[26] by Phyllis Ferguson Bottomer, Forewords by Eileen Sutherland and Tony Attwood.

Marvel has also published their take on this classic, releasing a short comic series of five issues that stays true to the original storyline. The first issue was published on 1 April 2009 and was written by Nancy Hajeski.^[27]

Author Amanda Grange wrote Mr Darcy's Diary in 2007 that tells the orginal story of Pride and Prejudice from the view of Mr Darcy and also wrote in 2009, Mr Darcy, Vampyre that follows Mr Darcy as a vampire, and his new bride, Elizabeth.

References

1. ^ The Works of Jane Austen
2. ^ http://www.monstersandcritics.com/dvd/reviews/article_1475660.php/Pride_and_Prejudice_%E2%80%93_Blu-ray_Review
3. ^ ^{a b c d e} Le Faye, Deidre (2002). Jane Austen: The World of Her Novels. New York: Harry N. Abrams. ISBN 0-8109-3285-7.
4. ^ ^{a b c d} Pinion, F B (1973). A Jane Austen. Companion. Macmillan. ISBN 333-12489-8.
5. ^ Janet M. Todd (2005), Jane Austen in Context, Cambridge University Press p. 127
6. ^ ^{a b c} Miles, Robert (2003). Jane Austen. Writers and Their Work. Northcote House. ISBN 0-7463-0876-0.
7. ^ Fox, Robert C. (September 1962). "Elizabeth Bennet: Prejudice or Vanity?". Nineteenth-Century Fiction (University of California Press) 17 (2): 185–187. doi:10.1525/ncl.1962.17.2.99p0134x.
8. ^ Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice, Ch 61.
9. ^ ^{a b c} Rogers, Pat (ed.) (2006). The Cambridge Edition of the Works of Jane Austen: Pride and Prejudice. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-82514-6.
10. ^ ^{a b c d} Stafford, Fiona (2004). "Notes on the Text". Pride and Prejudice. Oxford World's Classics (ed. James Kinley). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-280238-0.
11. ^ ^{a b c} Fergus, Jan (1997). "The professional woman writer". in E Copeland & J McMaster. The Cambridge Companion to Jane Austen. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-49867-8.
12. ^ Valérie Cossy and Diego Saglia. "Translations". Jane Austen in Context. Ed. Janet Todd. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2005. ISBN 0-521-82644-6.
13. ^ ^{a b} Southam, B. C. (ed) (1995). Jane Austen: The Critical Heritage. 1. New York: Routledge. ISBN 978-0-415-13456-9.
14. ^ "BBC - The Big Read - Top 100 Books". May 2003. http://www.bbc.co.uk/arts/bigread/top100.shtml. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
15. ^ "Aussie readers vote Pride and Prejudice best book". thewest.com.au. http://www.thewest.com.au/default.aspx?MenuID=182&ContentID=59459.
16. ^ Pride and Prejudice (1940)
17. ^ Pride and Prejudice (2003)
18. ^ Pride and Prejudice (2005)
19. ^ First Impressions the Broadway Musical
20. ^ Pride and Prejudice (1995)
21. ^ Pride and Prejudice: The New Musical
22. ^ See Jennifer M. Woolston's “‘It’s not a put-down, Miss Bennet; it’s a category’”: Andrew Black’s Chick Lit Pride and Prejudice,” Persuasions Online 28.1 (Winter 2007).[1]
23. ^ Burstein, Nathan (November 06, 2008). "Mr. Darcy’s Israeli Makeover". The Forward. http://www.forward.com/articles/14506.
24. ^ "Pride and Predator to give Jane Austen an extreme makeover". 2009-02-17. http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2009/feb/17/pride-and-predator-to-give-jane-austen-extreme-makeover. Retrieved 2009-02-17.
25. ^ Grossman, Lev (April 2009). "Pride and Prejudice, Now with Zombies". TIME Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/arts/article/0,8599,1889075,00.html. Retrieved 2009-04-26.
26. ^ Bottomer, Phyllis Ferguson (2007). "So Odd a Mixture: Along the Autism Spectrum in 'Pride and Prejudice'". http://www.jkp.com/catalogue/book.php/isbn/9781843104995. ,
27. ^ http://marvel.com/catalog/?writer=Nancy%20Hajeski