Pride & Prejudice

Jane Austen opens this book with a cynical commentary on the Eighteenth Century conception of the value of love - 'It is a truth and universally acknowledged that a gentleman in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife'!
This book is a parody of the battle between the lower gentry of England and the slightly higher ones as they each search for love, but everyone is hindered by pre-conceived 'prides' and 'prejudices' of other social classes. The main protagonist, Lizzy Bennett, manages to overcome her mother's objections to the pomposity and deign of her long-time adversary, Mr. Darcy, and find true love.
The book is dominated by the short presence of different characters. They all get married for foul reasons. Charlotte marries for status, Lydia for sex and Mrs. Hirst for money. But the Bennett sisters are manipulated by Austen to marry for the only thing worth marrying for...love.
Possibly this is the most amazing love story ever written!!