Other editions of book Sense and Sensibility

"Sense and Sensibility" is a novel by Jane Austen, and was her first published work when it appeared in 1811 under the pseudonym "A Lady". A work of romantic fiction, "Sense and Sensibility" is set in southwest England between 1792 and 1797, and portrays the life and loves of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. The novel follows the young ladies to their new home, a meagre cottage on a distant relative's property, where they experience love, romance and heartbreak. The philosophical resolution of the novel is ambiguous: the reader must decide whether sense and sensibility have truly merged.

William Collins Books and Decca Records are proud to present ARGO Classics, a historic catalogue of classic fiction read by some of the world’s most renowned voices. Originally released as vinyl records, these expertly abridged and remastered stories are now available to download for the first time. The three Dashwood sisters move to a cottage in Devon with their widowed mother. There, they experience love, romance and heartbreak. The older sister, Elinor, is more sensible, steadfast and wary; the middle sister, Marianne, is more impulsive and idealistic. Each will find love, but the routes that take them there will be very different. This beloved classic, famously adapted for film by Ang Lee and Emma Thompson, has all its wit and nuance brought to sparkling life by Prunella Scales.

"The more I know of the world, the more I am convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love. I require so much!" - Marianne DashwoodJane Austens Sense and Sensibility is a classic staple of English literature. Published in 1811, this novel tells the story of the Dashwood ladies - Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret - as their family is forced to move to a new estate. Elinor and Marianne, the oldest of the trio, come of age in a tumultuous time, and the novel focuses on their romances, tribulations, and relationships with one another as they grow up.Like Austens other famous novels, Sense and Sensibility has been successful since its publication, and is often adapted for stage and screen. The story of Elinor and Mariannes first forays into love and heartbreak is relatable to readers several decades removed from Austens time. Readers across generations identify with the headstrong women who seek love and companionship, often in the wrong places.

Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, is a wonderfully entertaining tale of flirtation and folly that revolves around two starkly different sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. While Elinor is thoughtful, considerate, and calm, her younger sister is emotional and wildly romantic. Both are looking for a husband, but neither Elinor's reason nor Marianne's passion can lead them to perfect happiness - as Marianne falls for an unscrupulous rascal and Elinor becomes attached to a man who's already engaged.Startling secrets, unexpected twists, and heartless betrayals interrupt the marriage games that follow. Filled with satiric wit and subtle characterizations, Sense and Sensibility teaches that true love requires a balance of reason and emotion.

When Mrs. Dashwood is forced by an avaricious daughter-in-law to leave the family home in Sussex, she takes her three daughters to live in a modest cottage in Devon. For Elinor, the eldest daughter, the move means a painful separation from the man she loves, but her sister Marianne finds in Devon the romance and excitement for which she longs. The contrasting fortunes and temperaments of the two girls as they struggle to cope in their different ways are portrayed by Jane Austen with her usual irony, humor and profound sensibility.

Within the insular world of the English countryside, among struggling clerical families, husband-hunting mothers and daughters, country fools and snobs, Jane Austen found the raw material she needed to write brilliant novels widely admired for their satiric wit, subtlety and perfection of style. Sense and Sensibility is one of the best of these. It is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who represent sense and sensibility, respectively. When both appear to be deserted by the young men they had intended to marry, the stage is set for a delicious comedy of manners that not only showcases Austen's perception, humor and incomparable prose, but offers a splendid glimpse of upper and middle-class English society of the early 18th century.

Rule by head or rule by heart? Elinor Dashwood is a great believer in "sense," while her exuberant younger sister Marianne feels keenly that only "sensibility" (what today we'd call passion) serves to guide the heart. Through vicissitudes and, in the case of Marianne, outright betrayal by her lover, these two women learn the value in the other's outlook, and thereby prepare themselves for later domestic bliss that is the hallmark resolution of Jane Austen's novels.

When Mrs. Dashwood is forced by an avaricious daughter-in-law to leave the family home in Sussex, she takes her three daughters to live in a modest cottage in Devon. For Elinor, the eldest daughter, the move means a painful separation from the man she loves, but her sister Marianne finds in Devon the romance and excitement for which she longs. The contrasting fortunes and temperaments of the two girls as they struggle to cope in their different ways are portrayed by Jane Austen with her usual irony, humor and profound sensibility.

Elinor and Marianne are two daughters of Mr. Dashwood by his second wife. They have a younger sister, Margaret, and an older half-brother named John. When their father dies, the family estate passes to John and the Dashwood women are left in reduced circumstances. Fortunately, a distant relative offers to rent the women a cottage on his property. The novel follows the Dashwood sisters to their new home, where they experience both romance and heartbreak.