Sense and Sensibility
When their father dies and the Dashwood estate passes by male entail to their half-brother, the three Dashwood sisters and their widowed mother are forced to leave Norland and take a modest cottage in Devonshire. Elinor, the eldest, keeps her feelings for Edward Ferrars strictly private even when a humiliating secret engagement threatens to ruin him, while Marianne, the middle sister, falls extravagantly for the dashing John Willoughby and makes a public spectacle of being in love. Jane Austen's first published novel, issued in 1811 and originally signed only By a Lady, pairs the two sisters as a running argument about how much feeling a woman in their situation is actually allowed to show, and quietly shows Elinor's restraint and Marianne's ardor each costing and protecting something the other cannot see.
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What you might want to know about Sense and Sensibility
The questions readers send us most often, answered without spoilers.
After their father dies and the estate goes to a half-brother, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood and their mother move to a Devonshire cottage. Each sister falls in love, and each is left wondering by a man.
Yes. Sense and Sensibility was first published in 1811 and is in the public domain. Free editions are available legally through Project Gutenberg, Standard Ebooks, and similar archives.
Yes, many times. The most famous adaptation is Ang Lee's 1995 film with Emma Thompson's Oscar-winning screenplay, starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant, and Alan Rickman.
Sense and Sensibility was written by Jane Austen, published in 1811 by ?.
Sense and Sensibility is 352 pages in standard print editions, though page counts vary slightly between hardcover, paperback, and large-print formats.
At an average reading pace of about 250 words per minute, Sense and Sensibility takes most readers 5 to 8 hours to finish.
Sense and Sensibility is a standalone novel by Jane Austen, not part of a series.
Sense and Sensibility is available in hardcover, paperback, ebook, and audiobook formats from Amazon, Bookshop.org, ThriftBooks, and most major bookstores.