within an inch of its life

[nonEnglish]

" I saw the film on Saturday night. I did try to 'forget' the book and the tv series, but I suppose I was bound to be disappointed in it as I studied P&P for A-level within an inch of its life and so it really was jarring to hear sentences that weren't included in the book."


What does she mean by "I studied P&P for A-level within an inch of its life"? P&P of course is Pride and Prejudice. A-level I suppose is some kind of exam in UK school system.
Thanks.

[Tdol]

within an inch of its life = nearly killed, so here it means that the person studied it very intensively.

[Tdol]

PS- A-levels are the final exams in British secondary schools.