Twenty year old Elizabeth Bennet, is the second eldest of the five daughters of a relatively poor country gentleman in the fictional estate of Longbourn, Hertfordshire, England. Her father`s estate is entailed to Mr. Collins, the closest male relative, meaning that upon Mr Bennet`s death, she and her mother and sisters will be turned out of their house and left to fend for themselves, something which obsesses her mother. Elizabeth`s older sister, Jane, is sweet-tempered and intelligent, but her three younger sisters are relatively uneducated; the two youngest being obsessed with clothes and flirting with a camp of officers stationed in a nearby village.

As the novel opens, Mr. Bingley, a wealthy young gentleman, rents a country estate near to the Bennets, accompanied by his two fashionable sisters and his good friend, the fabulously rich Mr. Darcy. Whereas Bingley is well-liked in the community, Darcy begins his acquaintance with Elizabeth, her family, and their neighbours with smug condescension and proud distaste for all of the country people. Despite Mrs. Bennet`s embarrassing interference and the opposition of his sisters, who believe Jane to be socially inferior, Mr. Bingley and Jane begin to grow closer. Elizabeth, amused but rather stung by Darcy`s haughty rejection of her at a local dance, makes it a point to match his coldness with her own wit.

At the same time, Elizabeth begins a friendship with Mr. Wickham, a charming officer who relates a prior acquaintance with Darcy. Upon hearing Wickham tell his story of his apparent misfortune at the hands of Mr. Darcy, Elizabeth immediately seizes upon it as another, more concrete reason to hate Mr. Darcy. Unbeknownst to her, Darcy finds himself gradually drawn to Elizabeth.

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

Mr. Collins, the obsequious and pompous male relative who is to inherit Longbourn, makes a sudden appearance and stays with the Bennets; he has been ordained as a clergyman and his patroness, the wealthy and patronizing Lady Catherine de Bourgh, insists he visit them. Mr Collins has another reason for visiting; he wishes to find a wife from among the Bennet sisters. He proposes marriage to Elizabeth, who refuses him - much to her mother`s distress. Collins makes another proposal and marries Elizabeth`s close friend, the plain Charlotte Lucas, who invites Elizabeth to stay with them. The Collins` parish is adjacent to Rosings Park, the grand manor of Lady Catherine de Bourgh, who turns out to be Darcy`s aunt. Elizabeth is frequently invited to Rosings, where she is again forced into contact with Darcy, who is visiting his aunt at the time. During this time, Elizabeth learns that Darcy indeed played a part in separating Bingley and Jane.

Elizabeth is very surprised when Darcy admits his love for her and proposes marriage. Insulted by his high-handed and insulting manner of proposal, Elizabeth refuses him, confronting 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 and revealing that Wickham in fact cheated him, and in order to exact revenge and to get his hands on some of the Darcy fortune, he attempted to seduce 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 separation was mainly to protect Bingley from both 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.

Some months later, during a tour of Derbyshire with her aunt and uncle, Elizabeth visits Pemberley, Darcy`s grand estate, and is presented with a more flattering, benevolent impression of his character from his housekeeper who has known him since babyhood. When the party encounters Darcy as they tour the grounds of Pemberley, he makes an effort to behave in a gracious and welcoming manner towards them, thus strengthening Elizabeth`s esteem of him. Darcy makes a point of introducing Elizabeth to his sister Georgiana and welcoming her uncle and aunt, people he previously dismissed as socially inferior.

Elizabeth and Darcy`s renewed acquaintance is threatened when news arrives Elizabeth`s younger sister Lydia has suddenly run away with Wickham. Initially it is believed that Wickham and Lydia have eloped, but it soon is surmised that Wickham has no plans to marry Lydia, thus threatening the family`s reputation and the Bennet sisters with ruin.

Ostensibly thanks to the intervention of Elizabeth`s uncle, Lydia and Wickham are found and married, delighting Mrs. Bennet. Elizabeth is surprised to learn from Lydia that Mr. Darcy was present at the wedding and discovers from her aunt that Darcy was in fact 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 rumours 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`s refusal to bow to Lady Catherine`s demands convinces Darcy that her opinion towards him has changed, and he once again proposes marriage. Elizabeth is by now in love with Mr. Darcy. She accepts, and the two are engaged.

In the epilogue, the fates of the characters are more or less revealed. Elizabeth and Darcy have settled in Pemberly; Mr. Bennet misses his second daughter greatly and visits Pemberly often. Mrs. Bennet is still as frivolous and silly as always, and she loves visiting 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 lead Kitty down a more sensible path, and Mary learns to accept the difference between herself and her sisters` beauty and mixes more with the outside world. Lydia and Wickham are always moving, leaving their debts to Jane and Elizabeth to pay off every time. Lydia and Wickham frequently come to visit and stay at the Bingley`s estate in Derbyshire.

In Pemberly, Elizabeth and Georgiana grow close, though Georgiana is surprised at the playful manner Elizabeth uses with Darcy. Lady Catherine is still very angry with her nephew`s marriage but over time the relationship between the two is repaired and she eventually decides to visit them at Pemberly. Elizabeth and Darcy are also often visited by her uncle and aunt, the Gardiners, showing how much Darcy has changed in his attitude towards those of supposedly inferior social status.

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