Sense and Sensibility

This fully annotated edition of Sense and Sensibility includes:
– Complete, Unabridged Special Edition with all original volumes

– A New Historical Annotation and Biography by Charlotte Davis

– Analytical Discussion Questions

Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen's first published novel. It brings to life her amazingly talented writing style known for love, comedy, personal growth, and a realistic portrayal of characters and their relationships.

Sense and Sensibility is the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, who are left in reduced circumstances and forced to live on the country estate of a distant relative with their mother and younger sister upon their father's death.

Adapting to their new circumstances, both sisters quickly find themselves attached to different eligible bachelors. Marianne, the romantically inclined and emotionally expressive younger sister, eagerly finds herself at the center of multiple romantic prospects. In contrast, Elinor, the more reserved sister who follows social conventions, warns Marianne that her impulsive behavior could lead to gossip and heartbreak.

Through their parallel experience of love – and heartbreak – the sisters learn that sense must mix with a sensibility to find lifelong happiness in a society where social status and wealth govern the rules of love.

Jane Austen revolutionized literary romance, using it as a stage to interpret, critique, and explore issues of gender inequality, class consciousness, and the dependence of women on marriage in the pursuit of favorable social standing and economic security. A theme that was unheard of at her time. For over two hundred years since her death, her biting use of irony, witty realism, and social commentary have earned her worldwide acclaim among critics and scholars alike, selling over 30 million copies of her works. She is widely considered one of the most influential writers ever.

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Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility is the classic coming of age story of two sisters—Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who have contrasting temperaments. On the surface Elinor, the older sister represents sense, while Marianne represents sensibility; however upon closer examination we find that they both exhibit varying aspects of each characteristic. Set in southwest England, in the towns of London and Kent, the novel follows the lives of the two sisters as they struggle to find love, romance, and ultimately deal with the heartbreaks along the way. The novel ponders the question of which is the best characteristic—sense or sensibility. It is unclear ultimately what Austen intended as the answer to this question, whether or not she left the novel purposefully ambiguous or if her suggestion is that a proper temperament requires some measure of both qualities. Sense and Sensibility is a compelling study of character and one of the great achievements of the romantic genre.

Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who struggle to achieve respectability, each in their own way in the face of the strict social conventions of early eighteenth-century England.

The carefree childhood of the two young sisters comes to an abrupt end upon their father’s death which leaves the family penniless and pushed out of the estate upon which they grew up. They move to a modest cottage on the property owned by a distant relative and there they experience love, romance, and heartbreak as they each attend to the serious business of achieving material security through marriage.

Through their romantic relationships, we are able to see the difference in their approaches to life. While Elinor, the somewhat reserved eldest daughter embodies good sense, fine judgment and discretion. She has a keen sense of responsibility to her family and friends and she places their welfare and interests above her own. Marianne, the romantically inclined and eagerly expressive second daughter, follows her heart while totally disregarding what society thinks. Marianne falls in love much too quickly while the more intellectual Elinor sees her chances for a happy marriage fade when she discovers the man for whom she’s fallen for is already engaged.

This delightful comedy of manners remains as fresh a cautionary tale today as it ever was. The novel has been in continuous publication since 1811, and has many times been illustrated, excerpted, abridged, and adapted for stage, film, and television.

"Sense and Sensibility" is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who have contrasting temperaments. On the surface Elinor, the older sister represents sense or reason while Marianne represents sensibility or emotion, however upon closer examination we find that they both exhibit varying aspects of each characteristic. A classic coming of age story "Sense and Sensibility" was Jane Austen's first published novel.

"Sense and Sensibility" by Jane Austen follows the lives and romantic entanglements of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, after their father's death leaves them in a precarious financial situation. Elinor embodies sense, showcasing rationality and restraint, while Marianne represents sensibility, driven by emotion and passion. As they navigate societal expectations, love, and heartbreak, the sisters learn valuable lessons about balance, duty, and the complexities of relationships. Through sharp wit and keen social observation, Austen critiques the constraints of her time while celebrating the enduring bonds of family and friendship. This beloved novel remains a poignant exploration of love and reason.

This King Edward Classics edition of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY includes:

•24 full-color illustrations from the 1908 edition of the novel
•“Regarding Jane Austen” featuring little-known facts about the author
•BONUS Unfinished Novel “Sanditon” (1817), Jane’s last attempt at a novel before her death

This King Edward Classics edition of a truly great novel is painstakingly faithful to the original. Both the novel and the memoir have been carefully proofread and formatted to make your reading experience an enjoyable and rewarding one.

BookDoors’ SENSE AND SENSIBILITY is the most richly annotated edition of Jane Austen’s novel available in print or online. Designed as an ebook, this and the other “In Context” editions of the Austen novels offer you swift, seamless access to information and commentary.

The modest price underscores BookDoors' mission (please see bookdoors.com) to make these works accessible to an audience of widely different experience and expectations. The “Literature in Its Context” series aspires to provide today’s reader with the knowledge an informed reader of 1815 possessed and that Austen took for granted. As you read you'll have, should you wish, an interpretive discussion of SENSE AND SENSIBILITY. You’ll also find illustrations, an Austen Glossary of some 1000 words, a time-line that includes cultural, scientific, and technological developments between 1770-1817, a select bibliography, and a brief biography of Austen.

Austen writes in EMMA that "Seldom, very seldom, does complete truth belong to any human disclosure; seldom can it happen that something is not a little disguised, or a little mistaken." That's true of Sense and Sensibility as well, and now, nearly two centuries later, "a little mistaken" and "a little disguised" understate the challenge.

At a basic level SENSE AND SENSIBILITY’S diction can be obscure, for words themselves have changed or disappeared. This edition defines words and phrases such as “demesne,” “knowing gigs,” “candour” (not at all as we use it), “jointure,” “hanger,” “cottage” (perhaps not our notion), “sublime,” “Epicurism,” and “glebe.”

A second order of annotation explains the historical and the cultural background in which Austen roots the novel. Money, inheritance (primogeniture, entail, and jointure), and the extent and nature of the country estate are central to the novel. When Austen refers to a young woman’s possessing £50,000 or to how expensive it is to keep a horse, it’s important to know how much the former is worth in today’s dollars and what it could buy then in the way of goods and labor. Similarly, when she refers to “enclosure,” we benefit from knowing what that meant to the gentry and to the agricultural laborer. As we do from knowing what Austen means by the Beautiful, the Sublime, and the Picturesque, the chief aesthetic touchstones of the day. Some in the novel rank and judge their own and others’ sensibility (as we may by the pre-sets on a car radio) by their responses to those categories when found in nature or architecture.

A third level of commentary addresses SENSE AND SENSIBILITY as a work of the literary imagination. Central are the title’s two terms, each represented by a sister, each opposed when, ideally, they should be complementary. One sister embodies a conventional morality, manners, and prudent conduct; the other is fiercely individualistic and, in the complex sense, “Romantic.” Austen questions Romanticism while also recognizing that it provides a desirable infusion of sincere passion into a cold, mannered, class-bound society.

In the novel’s background are several painful relationships, two sexual and mentally destabilizing. Omnipresent is Austen’s insight into the relations between marriage and money, complicated by the involvement of parents or guardians. Incidentally, the annotations discuss the novel as you read, never divulging or anticipating the plot yet to unfold.

Austen writes of one of her protagonists, Emma, what’s true of all: their two supreme moral strengths are discernment (to see what's actually there) and judgment (what to make of what’s there). Austen expects no less from her readers, but promises that the reward for our keener, braver discernment will be our far greater pleasure.

For more information and for the opportunity to read freely and test drive BookDoors’ nimble search engine, please visit bookdoors.com.

Sense and Sensibility is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. On his deathbed, Henry Dashwood gets John, his son by his first wife, to promise to take care of his stepmother and half-sisters, Elinor, Marianne and Margaret, from his inheritance. But Fanny, John's wife, persuades her husband not to support them financially, leaving them to survive on a greatly reduced income.

Fanny’s brother Edward Ferrars comes on a visit, but when Elinor and he seem to be growing close, Fanny warns Mrs Dashwood that Edward is destined for higher things by their mother. Affronted by this, Mrs Dashwood decides to move her family to Barton Cottage in Devonshire, which has been offered her at a low rent by her second cousin, Sir John Middleton. Later, while dining with the Middletons at Barton Park, Marianne attracts the attention of a family friend, Colonel Brandon. However, he is aged thirty-five, which seems much too old to the romantic sensibility of sixteen-year-old Marianne.

"Sense and Sensibility" is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who have contrasting temperaments. On the surface Elinor, the older sister represents sense or reason while Marianne represents sensibility or emotion, however upon closer examination we find that they both exhibit varying aspects of each characteristic. A classic coming of age story "Sense and Sensibility" was Jane Austen's first published novel.

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen, is one of literature’s most beloved stories of love, marriage, and sisterhood. Each collectible volume is a limited edition and features a laser-cut jacket on a textured book with foil stamping, making it ideal for fiction lovers and book collectors alike. This exclusive collector’s edition would be a great focal point to any shelf.

Fall in love with this gorgeous exclusive edition of Jane Austen’s beloved classic Sense and Sensibility.

Whether you’re buying this as a gift or as a self-purchase, this remarkable limited edition features:

– Beautiful hardcover with a distinctive brown one-of-a-kind, high-end/high-treatment laser-cut jacket over a contrasting cover, perfect for standing out on any bookshelf or coffee table

– Decorative interior pages featuring pull quotes distributed throughout and exclusive end pages

– An exquisite matching laser-cut bookmark

– Trim Size: 6 x 9

– Part of a 4-volume Fall Seasons series including Anne of Green Gables, Dracula, and Shakespeare in Autumn: Select Plays and the Complete Sonnets.
For Elinor Dashwood, sensible and sensitive, and her romantic, impetuous younger sister Marianne, the prospect of marrying the men they love appears remote. In a world ruled by money and self-interest, the Dashwood sisters have neither fortune nor connections. Concerned for others and for social proprieties, Elinor is ill-equipped to compete with self-centered fortune-hunters like Lucy Steele, while Marianne's unswerving belief in the truth of her own feelings makes her more dangerously susceptible to the designs of unscrupulous men.

Second only to Pride and Prejudice as the favorite work of Jane Austen, this collector’s edition of Sense and Sensibility is sure to please book collectors, fans of the cinematic adaptations, or Janeites and Austenites with its beautiful, stunning details.

Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, originally published in 1811, is a literary masterpiece that has stood the test of time. A must-read for fans of classic literature and Regency-era romance, this novel tells the captivating story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, as they navigate love, heartbreak, and societal expectations in a world defined by class and inheritance. Austen masterfully contrasts the sisters' opposing temperaments—Elinor's rational "sense" and Marianne's emotional "sensibility"—to explore themes of family, loyalty, deception, and the pursuit of happiness.

Written by one of England’s most celebrated authors, Jane Austen, Sense and Sensibility is the first of her six novels, which also include Pride and Prejudice, Emma, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion. Each of Austen's works provides a witty, satirical look at the social norms and gender roles of the 19th century, making her novels beloved by readers of timeless romance, historical fiction, and literary classics. Sense and Sensibility shares themes and tones with other classic novels such as Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre and Emily Brontë's Wuthering Heights, making it essential reading for fans of romantic dramas.

This richly layered novel continues to captivate readers over two centuries later, with its vivid characters like the kind but reserved Colonel Brandon, the charming yet untrustworthy Willoughby, and the steady yet conflicted Edward Ferrars. Austen’s incisive critique of societal norms and her sharp wit are evident throughout, offering a compelling and enduring commentary on love, duty, and human nature. Whether you’re a first-time reader or revisiting this literary gem, Sense and Sensibility is a perfect addition to your collection of classic English literature. Ideal for readers of timeless romances, coming-of-age novels, and period dramas, this story continues to resonate with audiences worldwide.

First published in 1811, Sense and Sensibility chronicles two sisters' experiences through romance, misunderstandings and heartbreak. Elinor Dashwood with her good sense and well-developed sense of justice forms a foil to her romantic, headstrong sister Marianne. Economics and social standing also play important parts in one of Austen's most endearing stories.This edition includes 39 black and white illustrations by Hugh Thomson. See our illustrated and annotated edition.

This fully annotated edition of "Sense and Sensibility" includes:

– Afterword

– Detailed Historical Context and Study Guide

When Love and Money Collide, Hearts Break and Fortunes Fall

What happens when two sisters lose everything and must rebuild their lives? In Jane Austen's captivating debut classic novel Sense and Sensibility (1811), the Dashwood sisters face this nightmare when their father's death leaves them penniless.

Elinor Dashwood believes in logic and restraint, guarding her heart carefully as she navigates her feelings for the mysterious Edward Ferrars. Meanwhile, passionate Marianne falls deeply and passionately for the charming John Willoughby—a man who seems too good to be true in this English historical romance.

But in Regency society, where a woman's reputation can be destroyed by whispers and financial security depends on marriage, both approaches to love will be brutally tested.

Why This Classic Literature Masterpiece Still Captivates:

– Unforgettable strong female characters – From steadfast Elinor to passionate Marianne, each feels remarkably real

– Heart-stopping period drama twists – Secret engagements, shocking betrayals, and breathless revelations

– Razor-sharp wit – Jane Austen's brilliant social commentary exposes her era society's absurdities with devastating precision

This classic British author masterfully weaves historical fiction romance, drama, and satire in this unforgettable sisterhood novel. As the sisters navigate fortune hunters, false friends, and their conflicting natures, they discover that neither pure sense nor pure sensibility guarantees happiness.

Experience the literary classic that launched one of literature's greatest careers.

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"Know your own happiness. You want nothing but patience—or give it a more fascinating name: call it hope."

When Mr. Henry Dashwood dies, his estate passes to his son from a first marriage, leaving his second wife and three daughters—Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret—nearly destitute. Forced to move to the modest Barton Cottage in Devonshire, the sisters must navigate the treacherous waters of love and social standing with very different philosophies. Elinor, representing "Sense," possesses a cautious, composed nature that hides a deep well of emotion. Marianne, representing "Sensibility," is passionate, impulsive, and unashamedly romantic. As they encounter the reserved Edward Ferrars, the dashing but unreliable John Willoughby, and the steadfast Colonel Brandon, both sisters must learn that life requires a delicate balance between the head and the heart.

A Study in Contrasts: Austen brilliantly pits the restraint of the Enlightenment against the rising tide of Romanticism. Through the sisters' parallel heartbreaks, she examines whether it is better to suffer in dignified silence or to give oneself entirely over to the "luxury of grief."

The Reality of Regency Survival: Beyond the romance, the novel is a sharp critique of the economic vulnerability of women in the 1800s. Without an inheritance, the Dashwood sisters' only "career" path is marriage, making every social interaction a high-stakes negotiation for their future security.

The Redemption of the Heart: From the rainy rescue on the hills of Devonshire to the painful betrayals in London ballrooms, Sense and Sensibility is a story of resilience. It is a masterpiece that proves that while "sense" may protect the heart, "sensibility" is what makes life worth living.

Find your balance. Purchase "Sense and Sensibility" today.

Jane Austen's first published work, meticulously constructed and sparkling with her unique wit
Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love – and its threatened loss – the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love. This edition also includes explanatory notes and textual variants between first and second edition.
For more than seventy years, Fox has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Fox Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Two sisters. Two ways of loving. One journey toward happiness.
Elinor Dashwood lives by sense—quiet strength, patience, and restraint—while her sister Marianne follows sensibility, guided by passion and emotion. As both face romance, heartbreak, and society's rigid expectations, they must learn when to guard the heart and when to trust it. Austen's gentle wit and insight turn their trials into a moving story of growth and love.

Celebrated as "Austen's first published novel and one of her most tender," this classic blends romance, humor, and emotional wisdom. Its exploration of balance between reason and feeling remains as relevant today as it was two centuries ago.

If you love heartfelt romance, rich characters, and timeless reflections on love and maturity, this novel will enchant you.

Open the book—and discover why love needs both sense and sensibility.