In 2013 Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice turns 200. Again and again in polls conducted around the world, it is regularly chosen as the favourite novel of all time. Read and studied from Cheltenham to China, there are Jane Austen Societies from Boston to Buenos Aires, dedicated to sharing the delights of Jane Austen's masterpiece. Here is the tale of how Pride and Prejudice came to be written, its first reception in a world that didn't take much notice of it and then its growing popularity.

2013 is the 200th anniversary of the publication of 'Pride and Prejudice.' Here is the tale of how it came to be written, its first reception in a world that didn't take much notice and then its growing popularity leading up to Colin Firth mania and a best-selling zombie mash-up.