Jane Austen Stories — Pride and Prejudice Part 20

Host: Dame Julie Andrews (Narrator)
Date: December 5, 2025
Podcast Network: Noiser

Episode Overview

In this episode, Dame Julie Andrews continues reading Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice in its original form, picking up as the Bennet family reels from the scandal of Lydia Bennet’s elopement with Mr. Wickham. The family is anxiously awaiting news from London, uncertain of Lydia’s fate and fearing ruination. Letters fly back and forth, family tensions rise, and anxious hope mingles with despair—until a missive from Mr. Gardiner suggests a possible (if imperfect) resolution.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Lingering Uncertainty & Community Judgment

• The episode opens with the Bennet family hoping for news from Mr. Bennet, who is searching for Lydia in London, but no letter arrives.

• Mrs. Gardiner stays with the Bennet daughters to comfort them, while Mrs. Phillips continues to bring dispiriting news of Wickham’s debts and misbehavior.

• The entire community of Meryton begins to slander Wickham, swiftly turning on the young man beloved only months earlier.

  "All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who but three months before had been almost an angel of light." (Julie Andrews, 04:44)

2. Search Efforts & Growing Despair

• Mr. Gardiner travels to London to aid Mr. Bennet; their inquiries at hotels and through military contacts turn up nothing.
• Elizabeth and Jane grow increasingly hopeless, realizing that Lydia and Wickham seem to have evaded all detection, and that hopes for a hasty marriage are fading.

3. Mr. Collins’ Absurd Condolence Letter

• A letter from Mr. Collins expresses his “condolence,” managing both to blame the Bennets for Lydia’s “licentiousness” and to congratulate himself for avoiding marriage into their now-disgraced family.

  "The death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison of this." (Mr. Collins' letter read by Julie Andrews, 09:51)

  "Let me advise you then, my dear sir, to console yourself ... throw off your unworthy child from your affection forever..." (Mr. Collins' letter, 12:26)

4. Wickham’s True Character and Debts Revealed

• It is confirmed that Wickham has no close relations, is a known “gamester,” and is deeply in debt—over £1,000 in “debts of honour” and more in town. This information horrifies the family, and the search grinds on with little hope.

  "A gamester, she cried. This is wholly unexpected. I had not an idea of it." (Jane, 13:31)

5. Mr. Bennet’s Return & Ironic Composure

• Mr. Bennet, exhausted and “spiritless,” returns home, convinced at Elizabeth’s urging that the fault is his own for not having curbed his daughter’s wildness.

• He dryly jokes about future restrictions on his other daughters and the family’s new vigilance regarding young officers.

  "No officer is to ever enter my house again, nor even to pass through the village. Balls will be absolutely prohibited unless you stand up with one of your sisters." (Mr. Bennet, 19:42)

6. Dramatic News: Lydia and Wickham Found

• An urgent letter from Mr. Gardiner arrives—the couple has been found, though not married, but arrangements can be made if the Bennet family agrees to certain financial settlements (£100 per year for Lydia, her share of the inheritance, etc.)

  "I have seen them both. They are not married, nor can I find there was any intention of being so. But if you are willing to perform these engagements which I have ventured to make on your side, I hope it will not be long before they are." (Letter from Mr. Gardiner, read by Julie Andrews, 25:26)

  • Jane takes hope:

    "Then it is as I always hoped ... they are married." (Jane, 25:26)

  • But Elizabeth, with Mr. Bennet, understands the businesslike nature of the agreement:

    "He is such a dreadful man ... there is nothing else to be done." (Elizabeth, Mr. Bennet, 29:13) "Wickham’s a fool if he takes him with a farthing less than £10,000." (Mr. Bennet, 30:36)

7. Reflections and Mixed Joy

• The sisters reflect on the nature of the arrangement, understanding that their uncle Gardiner must have made significant financial sacrifices. The happiness is muted by the low expectations for Lydia’s future happiness.

  "We are forced to rejoice. Oh, Lydia." (Elizabeth, 31:13)
  "Her taking her home and affording her their personal protection and countenance is such a sacrifice ... as years of gratitude cannot enough acknowledge." (Elizabeth, 32:17)

8. Mrs. Bennet’s Clueless Euphoria

• Mrs. Bennet is overjoyed at the prospect of Lydia’s marriage, immediately thinking of clothes and celebrations, showing little regard for the gravity of the circumstances.

• She is thrilled at the notion of a daughter married at 16, and the family’s social rescue, and becomes engrossed in planning shopping trips and a wedding party.

  "My dear, dear Lydia, she cried. This is delightful indeed. She will be married. I shall see her again. She will be married at 16. My good kind brother. I knew he would manage everything." (Mrs. Bennet, 37:27) "Oh, Mrs. Wickham, how well it sounds. And she was only 16 last June." (Mrs. Bennet, 38:51)

9. Elizabeth’s Sobering Realism

• Elizabeth removes herself from the celebrations, reflecting in her room that Lydia’s marriage “must be at best be bad enough,” but is grateful they avoided total ruin.

  "Poor Lydia’s situation must at best be bad enough, but that it was no worse, she had need to be thankful she felt it so." (Julie Andrews as Elizabeth, 41:19)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On Wickham’s rapid fall from grace:
  “All Meryton seemed striving to blacken the man who but three months before had been almost an angel of light.” (04:44, Narrator/Julie Andrews)
• Mr. Collins’ tactless condolence:
  “The death of your daughter would have been a blessing in comparison of this.” (09:51, Mr. Collins’ Letter)
• Jane’s shock at Wickham’s gambling:
  “A gamester, she cried. This is wholly unexpected.” (13:31, Jane)
• Mr. Bennet’s dry humor:
  “Balls will be absolutely prohibited unless you stand up with one of your sisters. And you are never to stir out of doors till you can prove that you have spent 10 minutes of every day in a rational manner.” (19:42, Mr. Bennet)
• Mrs. Bennet’s delight:
  “My dear, dear Lydia ... She will be married. I shall see her again ... Mrs. Wickham, how well it sounds. And she was only 16 last June.” (37:27, Mrs. Bennet)

Timestamps for Important Segments

• Recap & Opening — Lydia’s Disappearance & Family Turmoil: 01:22–03:00
• Meryton’s Reaction/Reputation Ruined: 04:44–05:23
• Efforts to Find Lydia & Wickham (Correspondence): 06:06–08:45
• Mr. Collins’ Letter — Comic Relief: 09:17–12:43
• Wickham’s Debts Revealed: 13:04–13:31
• Mr. Bennet’s Return & Reflections: 17:14–20:30
• Express News from London — Lydia & Wickham Found: 22:20–30:36
• Reflections on the Outcome (Elizabeth & Jane): 31:13–33:10
• Mrs. Bennet’s Joyful Response: 35:39–39:43
• Elizabeth’s Realism & Closing Reflections: 41:19–42:12
• Preview of Next Episode: 42:12–43:13

Conclusion & Next Episode Preview

The episode captures the consternation, anxiety, and ultimate mixed relief of the Bennet family as Lydia’s scandal is contained but at the cost of a hasty, dubious marriage. Mrs. Bennet’s superficial joy contrasts with Elizabeth’s realism, as the family thanks Mr. Gardiner for his brave intervention.

Next: Lydia is married in London; the couple returns to Longbourn to a “mixed reception,” and Lydia lets slip a secret that leaves Elizabeth astonished.