Jane Austen · 1813
Who’s who, from Elizabeth Bennet to Mr Collins
Five sisters with no fortune, a proud gentleman with ten thousand a year, a clergyman who will not take no for an answer, and an aunt who is not to be trifled with. Here is everyone who matters in Pride and Prejudice, family by family, with their finest lines and a Regency portrait of each that you can sit for yourself.
Longbourn, Hertfordshire
A gentleman’s family a mile from the market town of Meryton. Mr Bennet’s estate is entailed on a male heir, so when he dies Longbourn will pass to his cousin, Mr Collins, and his five daughters will have very little. Hence Mrs Bennet’s great business in life: getting them married.
Master of Longbourn
Clever, sardonic and happiest in his library, Mr Bennet treats his family’s follies as a private entertainment. His favourite is Elizabeth, the one daughter with his own quick wit. His great failing is that he laughs when he should act, until Lydia’s elopement shows him the cost.
“For what do we live, but to make sport for our neighbours, and laugh at them in our turn?”
Married to: Mrs Bennet
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Mistress of Longbourn
Excitable, talkative and utterly devoted to marrying off her daughters, Mrs Bennet greets every rich young man as a gift from heaven and every setback as an attack on her poor nerves. She is ridiculous, and she is also right: without husbands, her girls face real hardship.
“You have no compassion on my poor nerves.”
Married to: Mr Bennet
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The eldest daughter
The most beautiful of the sisters and the kindest, Jane always thinks the best of everyone. She falls in love with Mr Bingley at the Meryton assembly, but hides her feelings so well that his friends persuade him she does not care for him.
“I would wish not to be hasty in censuring anyone; but I always speak what I think.”
Marries: Mr Bingley
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The second daughter, and the heroine
Quick, playful and not easily impressed, Elizabeth (Lizzy to her family) takes an instant dislike to the proud Mr Darcy and believes every word Mr Wickham says against him. Her journey from prejudice to understanding, and her refusal to marry without love, have made her one of the best-loved heroines in English fiction.
“My courage always rises with every attempt to intimidate me.”
Marries: Mr Darcy
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The third daughter
The plain, bookish sister, who studies books of moral extracts and plays the pianoforte at every opportunity, whether or not anyone wishes to listen. At the end of the novel she is the only daughter left at home.
The fourth daughter
Catherine, always called Kitty, follows wherever Lydia leads: coughing, sulking and chasing officers. Once Lydia has gone, and Kitty spends her time with her elder sisters instead, she greatly improves.
The youngest daughter
Only fifteen when the novel opens, Lydia is loud, fearless and wild about officers. Her elopement with Mr Wickham from Brighton threatens to ruin the whole family, and is only mended by a secret act of Mr Darcy’s.
“Lord! how ashamed I should be of not being married before three-and-twenty!”
Elopes with: Mr Wickham
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Netherfield Park, Hertfordshire
Netherfield Park is let at last, to a young man of large fortune from the north of England, and his arrival at the Meryton assembly with his sisters and his proud friend sets the whole story in motion.
The new tenant of Netherfield
Handsome, good-humoured and worth four or five thousand a year, Charles Bingley dances every dance at the assembly and admires Jane at once. His one weakness is how easily his friends can talk him out of what he wants.
“Whatever I do is done in a hurry.”
Marries: Jane Bennet
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Mr Bingley’s sister
Elegant, snobbish and determined to become Mrs Darcy, Miss Bingley flatters Darcy, mocks the Bennets, and does all she can to keep her brother away from Jane.
“I declare, after all, there is no enjoyment like reading!”
Sets her cap at: Mr Darcy
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Mr Bingley’s married sister and her husband
Louisa Hurst shares every one of her sister Caroline’s opinions. Her husband, Austen tells us, lived only to eat, drink, and play at cards.
Pemberley, Derbyshire
Pemberley is one of the finest estates in Derbyshire, and the moment Elizabeth sees it, on a summer tour with her aunt and uncle, she begins to see its owner differently.
Master of Pemberley
Fitzwilliam Darcy has ten thousand a year and the manners of a man who knows it. He slights Elizabeth at their first meeting, proposes to her insultingly at Hunsford, and is refused. His letter, his changed manners at Pemberley and his quiet rescue of Lydia win her in the end.
“In vain have I struggled. It will not do. My feelings will not be repressed.”
Marries: Elizabeth Bennet
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Mr Darcy’s sister
Shy, gentle and a gifted musician, Georgiana is little more than sixteen. The summer before the novel opens, Mr Wickham very nearly persuaded her to elope with him.
“There was sense and good-humour in her face, and her manners were perfectly unassuming and gentle.”
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Mr Darcy’s cousin
The younger son of an earl, easy and well mannered, he is the best company at Rosings, and lets slip to Elizabeth that it was Darcy who separated Bingley from Jane.
“Younger sons cannot marry where they like.”
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Rosings Park and Hunsford, Kent
In Kent, Lady Catherine de Bourgh rules over Rosings Park and over the parsonage at its gate, where Mr Collins is rector and Charlotte Lucas, to everyone’s surprise, becomes his wife.
Mistress of Rosings
Mr Darcy’s aunt: rich, grand and certain she knows best about everything. She means Darcy to marry her daughter, and her furious visit to Longbourn to stop Elizabeth marrying him does exactly the opposite.
“I am not to be trifled with.”
Patroness of: Mr Collins
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Lady Catherine’s daughter
Pale, sickly and almost silent, and intended by her mother since infancy to be Mr Darcy’s wife.
Rector of Hunsford, and heir to Longbourn
William Collins, Mr Bennet’s cousin, is pompous, obsequious and devoted to his patroness, Lady Catherine. He proposes to Elizabeth in one of the funniest scenes in literature, refuses to believe her refusal, and within days is engaged to Charlotte Lucas.
“Nothing remains for me but to assure you in the most animated language of the violence of my affection.”
Marries: Charlotte Lucas
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Elizabeth’s closest friend
Sensible and plain-spoken, Charlotte is twenty-seven and has no illusions about marriage. She accepts Mr Collins for the comfortable home he offers, and makes the very best of her bargain at Hunsford.
“I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home.”
Marries: Mr Collins
Meryton, Brighton and London
A regiment of militia is quartered in Meryton for the winter, to the delight of Kitty and Lydia, and among its officers is the most charming man in Hertfordshire. In London, Mrs Bennet’s brother and his wife are the family’s wisest friends.
An officer of the militia
George Wickham, the son of old Mr Darcy’s steward, has good looks, easy manners and a sad story of how Darcy cheated him of his inheritance. The truth, when it comes out, is rather different. He elopes with Lydia from Brighton, and only Darcy’s money persuades him to marry her.
“His appearance was greatly in his favour: he had all the best parts of beauty, a fine countenance, a good figure, and very pleasing address.”
Elopes with: Lydia Bennet
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Mrs Bennet’s brother and his wife
Sensible, warm and well bred, the Gardiners live in Gracechurch Street, within view of his warehouses. It is on their summer tour of Derbyshire that Elizabeth sees Pemberley and meets Mr Darcy again.
One photo · three scenes
One photo of you, three scenes from the novel: the ball at Netherfield, a morning at Longbourn and a walk at Rosings.
For two
Sit for one portrait each and hang them side by side: the loveliest Pride and Prejudice gift for an anniversary, or for the Austen lover in your life.
The proudest proposal, and the happiest ending
Parted by his friends, reunited by one
Eloped from Brighton
Three-and-twenty years of nerves and teasing
On screen
Who played whom in the three best-loved adaptations: the BBC series of 1995, Joe Wright’s 2005 film and Netflix’s new series of 2026.
| Character | 1995 BBC series | 2005 film | 2026 Netflix series |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elizabeth Bennet | Jennifer Ehle | Keira Knightley | Emma Corrin |
| Mr Darcy | Colin Firth | Matthew Macfadyen | Jack Lowden |
| Jane Bennet | Susannah Harker | Rosamund Pike | Freya Mavor |
| Mary Bennet | Lucy Briers | Talulah Riley | Hopey Parish |
| Kitty Bennet | Polly Maberly | Carey Mulligan | Hollie Avery |
| Lydia Bennet | Julia Sawalha | Jena Malone | Rhea Norwood |
| Mrs Bennet | Alison Steadman | Brenda Blethyn | Olivia Colman |
| Mr Bennet | Benjamin Whitrow | Donald Sutherland | Rufus Sewell |
| Mr Bingley | Crispin Bonham-Carter | Simon Woods | Daryl McCormack |
| Caroline Bingley | Anna Chancellor | Kelly Reilly | Siena Kelly |
| Mr Wickham | Adrian Lukis | Rupert Friend | Louis Partridge |
| Mr Collins | David Bamber | Tom Hollander | Jamie Demetriou |
| Charlotte Lucas | Lucy Scott | Claudie Blakley | Jasmine Blackborow |
| Lady Catherine de Bourgh | Barbara Leigh-Hunt | Judi Dench | Fiona Shaw |
| Georgiana Darcy | Emilia Fox | Tamzin Merchant | Isabella Sermon |
| Colonel Fitzwilliam | Anthony Calf | Cornelius Booth | Not announced |
| Mrs Gardiner | Joanna David | Penelope Wilton | Anjana Vasan |
| Mr Gardiner | Tim Wylton | Peter Wight | Sebastian Armesto |
The 1995 BBC series, written by Andrew Davies in six episodes, is still the version many readers know best: Jennifer Ehle won the BAFTA for Best Actress, and Colin Firth’s Darcy diving into the lake at Pemberley, a scene that is not in the novel, became one of the most famous moments in British television.
Joe Wright’s 2005 film compressed the story into two hours and earned Keira Knightley an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Its cast is a roll-call of later stars, from Rosamund Pike and Carey Mulligan to Judi Dench as Lady Catherine.
Netflix’s six-part series, written by Dolly Alderton and directed by Euros Lyn, is released on 3 December 2026. Earlier adaptations include the 1940 MGM film with Greer Garson and Laurence Olivier, and the 1980 BBC series with Elizabeth Garvie and David Rintoul. See Mr Darcy on screen and Elizabeth Bennet on screen for more.
Four questions
Four questions from the novels. Find your match among the Bennets, the Bingleys and the Darcys, then sit for their portrait.
Question 1 of 4
At a ball, you…
Pride and Prejudice questions
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Elizabeth Bennet and Mr Darcy are the heroine and hero. Around them are Elizabeth’s parents and her sisters Jane, Mary, Kitty and Lydia; Mr Bingley and his sister Caroline; Mr Wickham; Mr Collins and Charlotte Lucas; Lady Catherine de Bourgh; Georgiana Darcy and Colonel Fitzwilliam; and Mr and Mrs Gardiner.
From eldest to youngest: Jane, Elizabeth, Mary, Catherine (always called Kitty) and Lydia.
Fitzwilliam. He signs his long letter to Elizabeth “Fitzwilliam Darcy”.
Twenty. When Lady Catherine presses her at Rosings, she admits she is “not one-and-twenty”. Lydia, the youngest sister, is fifteen when the novel begins.
Jane marries Mr Bingley, Elizabeth marries Mr Darcy and Lydia marries Mr Wickham. Mary and Kitty are still unmarried at the end of the novel.
Mr and Mrs Bennet have five daughters. Mrs Bennet’s sister is Mrs Phillips of Meryton and her brother is Mr Gardiner of London. Mr Collins is Mr Bennet’s cousin and heir. Lady Catherine de Bourgh is Mr Darcy’s aunt, Anne de Bourgh his cousin, Colonel Fitzwilliam another cousin and Georgiana his sister. Mr Bingley’s sisters are Caroline Bingley and Louisa Hurst.
The estate is entailed on the male line. With no son, Mr Bennet’s heir is his nearest male relative, his cousin Mr Collins, so Mrs Bennet and her daughters cannot inherit their own home.
The third of the five sisters: serious, bookish and fond of playing the pianoforte and offering moral reflections. She is the only daughter still living at home at the end of the novel.
On 28 January 1813. Jane Austen first wrote it in 1796 and 1797 under the title First Impressions.
Emma Corrin plays Elizabeth Bennet and Jack Lowden plays Mr Darcy, with Olivia Colman and Rufus Sewell as Mr and Mrs Bennet, Freya Mavor as Jane, Rhea Norwood as Lydia, Daryl McCormack as Mr Bingley, Louis Partridge as Mr Wickham, Jamie Demetriou as Mr Collins and Fiona Shaw as Lady Catherine de Bourgh. The six-part series, written by Dolly Alderton, is released on 3 December 2026.
Jennifer Ehle and Colin Firth played Elizabeth and Mr Darcy in the BBC series, with Alison Steadman and Benjamin Whitrow as Mr and Mrs Bennet, Susannah Harker as Jane, Julia Sawalha as Lydia, Crispin Bonham-Carter as Mr Bingley, Adrian Lukis as Mr Wickham, David Bamber as Mr Collins and Barbara Leigh-Hunt as Lady Catherine.
Keira Knightley and Matthew Macfadyen played Elizabeth and Mr Darcy in Joe Wright’s film, with Brenda Blethyn and Donald Sutherland as Mr and Mrs Bennet, Rosamund Pike as Jane, Jena Malone as Lydia, Carey Mulligan as Kitty, Simon Woods as Mr Bingley, Rupert Friend as Mr Wickham, Tom Hollander as Mr Collins and Judi Dench as Lady Catherine.
Yes. In Jane Austen Photo Studio you can sit as Elizabeth Bennet (in three scenes), Mr Darcy (in two), Jane, Lydia, Mr Bingley, Mr Wickham, Mr Collins, Lady Catherine and more, from one photo of yourself. Elizabeth and Mr Darcy are free to sit.
Your Regency portrait as Elizabeth, Mr Darcy or anyone on this page, from one photo of you. Elizabeth and Mr Darcy are free to sit.
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