You can also compare the novel to other writing of the time, non-fiction work or more modern texts that share similar themes. This shows evidence of wider reading but also knowledge of context and key ideas and themes.

In Sense and Sensibility, another Austen novel, the difference between passion and order is explored as it is in Pride and Prejudice. Elizabeth is at odds with society because she expresses her opinions and emotions but she regulates them, unlike Lydia. She is the perfect balance between the sense and sensibility which is a balance the characters in Sense and Sensibility find it hard to achieve.

In Emma, Austen looks at class too when the protagonist, Emma, tries to improve the prospects of Harriet Smith and attempts to marry her to eligible society men without success, Harriet ends up marrying a farmer for love. The novel also explores matchmaking and romance and the problematic consequences of not following your heart.

Bridget Jones’ Diary is a modern adaptation of Pride and Prejudice which follows the same narrative structure, with similar twists, turns and characters. The film version is even closer to Austen’s original than the book and even includes narrative devices such as Bridget’s narration interrupting the flow of the film. Instead of marrying for money, Bridget Jones needs a boyfriend because she is in her thirties!

Wuthering Heights was written shortly after Pride and Prejudice by Emily Bronte. It is a gothic romance where the characters are passionate and sometimes violent and more sexual than in Austen’s novel. Yet it explores the class dilemma, as Catherine must choose between the wild orphan Heathcliff and the gentlemanly Edgar Linton; unlike Darcy, she does not overcome her prejudice with dramatic consequences.

Pamela– Samuel Richardson wrote one of the most famous epistolary novels about a young maid who is sexually harassed by her master. Other famous novels that use letters include Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dracula by Bram Stoker.