Library/ Pride and Prejudice

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Elizabeth Bennet

The Bennets' quick-witted daughter, already singled out by her father.

A rich, handsome gentleman whose proud conduct at his first assembly alienates Elizabeth and the neighbourhood.

A Bennet daughter whom her mother considers the family's handsomest prospect.

A wealthy unmarried young man newly expected to settle near the Bennets.

A strikingly handsome new militia officer whose charged recognition with Darcy instantly captivates Elizabeth and unsettles Meryton.

An excitable mother whose life's chief business is marrying her five daughters well.

A Bennet daughter whom her mother calls especially good-humoured.

One of Bingley's fashionable sisters, admitted to the assembly only within the Netherfield party.

A dryly witty country gentleman whose private amusement is often his wife's distress.

A tall, formal young clergyman and heir to Longbourn, combining self-importance with slavish gratitude toward Lady Catherine de Bourgh.

Charlotte Lucas

Elizabeth's sensible, intelligent intimate friend, a calm observer of the assembly's romantic possibilities.

A sensible, gentlemanlike London tradesman whose home offers the eldest Bennets refuge from Longbourn's anxieties.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh

A powerful titled widow whose patronage has installed Mr. Collins at Hunsford and commands his extravagant deference.

A Bennet daughter associated by her father with earnest reading and reflection.

Darcy's tall, exceptionally accomplished young sister, admired by Miss Bingley though not yet present in Hertfordshire.

A Bennet daughter whose coughing and curiosity briefly draw her into the family commotion.

Bingley's married fashionable sister, whose elegance helps define the Netherfield party.

Colonel Fitzwilliam

Darcy's pleasant, well-bred younger cousin, whose easy conversation immediately brightens the restrained Hunsford circle.

An intelligent, elegant London aunt whose affectionate good sense offers Jane and Elizabeth their clearest adult counsel.

Darcy's noble Derbyshire home, famed already for a great family library and held up as a model of inherited taste.

Lady Catherine's sickly but immensely wealthy only daughter, praised by Collins as a beauty born for the highest rank.

Colonel Forster

An officer in local society whom Elizabeth playfully presses to give a Meryton ball.

A valuable Kentish rectory near Westerham, held by Mr. Collins under Lady Catherine de Bourgh's patronage.

The Bennet family's village home, where the assembly's consequences are eagerly rehearsed.

The married brother-in-law within Bingley's fashionable visiting party.

Mrs. Bennet's Meryton sister, whose household supplies the younger Bennets with military news.

Mrs. Younge is the disgraced companion whose secret connection with Wickham helped bring Georgiana near to an elopement at Ramsgate.

Lady Catherine de Bourgh's grand Kentish seat, the standard by which Collins measures every lesser room and privilege.

Sir William Lucas

A friendly knight and former tradesman whose rise has made civility his chief occupation.

A country-gentleman family of five unmarried daughters, united by affection and divided by temperament and matrimonial urgency.

A militia captain whose anticipated movements preoccupy Lydia Bennet.

A kind, undemanding neighbour and Mrs. Bennet's useful social counterpart.

A small Derbyshire town from Mrs. Gardiner's youth, Lambton becomes the Gardiners' base near Pemberley.

A newly genteel neighbouring family whose closeness to the Bennets makes it central to local society.

The Lucas family's country house near Meryton, a close social counterpart to Longbourn.

Maria Lucas accompanies Elizabeth to Hunsford and now leaves Kent carrying Lady Catherine's exhaustive instructions about travelling and packing.

The local Hertfordshire town whose assembly introduces the Bennets to Bingley's party.

Meryton Assembly

The first local ball at which Bingley's charm and Darcy's pride divide the Bennets' hopes and resentments.

Meryton Militia Regiment

The regiment newly wintering in Meryton, whose officers absorb the younger Bennet sisters' attention.

A friendly Meryton officer who brings Wickham from London and introduces him into the Bennets' social circle.

A Meryton attorney whose connection with the militia expands his nieces' obsession with officers.

A very young, high-spirited colonel's wife, Mrs. Forster invites Lydia to Brighton after a fast friendship built on shared exuberance.

Anne de Bourgh's vigilant companion, whose quiet attention makes the heiress's frailty the governing fact of every Rosings room.

A neighbouring woman whose information and promised introduction make her a contested social intermediary.

Pemberley's longtime housekeeper speaks of Darcy with the unguarded loyalty of someone who has known him since childhood.

Netherfield Ball

Bingley's long-awaited country ball, where public dancing exposes private attractions, humiliations, and the Bennet family's social vulnerability.

Netherfield Park

A leased Hertfordshire estate whose new wealthy tenant creates the Bennets' most promising social opportunity.