Sense & Sensibility

Written by Jane Austen

Narrated by Geoffrey Giuliano and The Spire

Welcome to the world of Jane Austen, one of the most beloved authors in the English language. Austen's works are known for their wit, social commentary, and romantic storylines that have captivated readers for generations. This audiobook is an introduction to the life and works of Austen and will provide a glimpse into her world and the legacy she left behind.

Sense and Sensibility was written by Jane Austen and published in 1811. The novel follows the lives of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, as they navigate the complexities of love, society, and family in 19th-century England. In this essay, we will explore the themes, characters, and plot of Sense and Sensibility in detail. One of the central themes is the contrast between sense, represented by Elinor, and sensibility, represented by Marianne. Elinor is rational and reserved, while Marianne is impulsive and romantic. The novel explores the strengths and weaknesses of both approaches to life and love. Ultimately, the novel suggests that a balance of sense and sensibility is necessary for a happy and fulfilling life.

The plot of Sense and Sensibility is rich and engaging, with several subplots and twists. The novel begins with the death of the Dashwood sisters' father, leaving them with an uncertain financial future. They move to a cottage in Devonshire, where they meet new friends and potential suitors. Elinor falls in love with Edward Ferrars, but their relationship is threatened by his engagement to Lucy Steele. Marianne falls in love with John Willoughby, but he abandons her for a wealthy heiress. Meanwhile, Colonel Brandon is quietly in love with Marianne, but he is too reserved to express his feelings. Eventually, Elinor and Marianne find love and happiness, but not without enduring hardship and heartbreak along the way.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Icon Audio Arts
• Release date: Mar 15, 2023
• ISBN: 9798887678320

Jane Austen

Jane Austen nació en la rectoría de Steventon, al noreste de Hampshire, el 16 de diciembre de 1775. Séptima hija del reverendo George Austen y de Cassandra Leigh, Jane Austen fue una destacada novelista británica que, gracias a su gran habilidad para retratar a la sociedad en la que vivió, es considerada como uno de los clásicos de la literatura inglesa. Las novelas de Jane Austen son un reflejo de la nobleza rural inglesa de la época; gracias a su ironía e ingenio y a lo atractivo de su narrativa, se mantienen como un referente de la literatura universal. Su obra ha sido adaptada al cine, al teatro y a la televisión en numerosas ocasiones. Durante la décadade 1790 escribió los primeros borradores de sus exitosas novelas Sentido y sensibilidad, La abadía de Northanger y Orgullo y prejuicio, inspiradas en el color local de Kent y Bath. Entre 1810 y 1817 verían la luz Emma, Mansfield Park y Persuasión. Austen falleció en 1817 en Winchester.

Reviews for Sense & Sensibility

[beauxarts79 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Austen's wit, sense of irony, and clarity about human personality never fail to impress. Any minor complaint I might have about this novel can almost certainly be attributed to my having been biased by the film adaptation.

[anniehidalgo · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I've actually already read this book, but I think it's my favorite Jane Austen, so I decided to read it again. Or at least it used to be my favorite. On rereading it, I think Emma or Persuasion might have the edge. But it's still very good. I'm not sure I understood all of Austen's semi-snide comments on human behaviour as a teenager.

[maureencean · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Entertaining enough, more accessible than I necessarily expected. Hard to believe that people would actually have been as obsessed with money as Mr. John Dashwood was. But forgive Willoughby? Seriously? That was lost on me.

[comfypants · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Two sisters have romantic troubles.3/4 (Good)It's enjoyable. These are great heroines, although one of them starts the novel as a pretty awful person (before her eventual strong development arc). And there's always enough going on that it doesn't get boring for long.But it doesn't have the emotional resonance that I got from the other Austen novels I've read (Persuasion, which is overall not as good as this, and Pride & Prejudice, which is better in every way). The plot is concerned with the difficulties of the sisters in getting the men they love, while their actual falling in love is simply told to us.And there is an unreasonable amount of "comedy" (which, unlike Pride & Prejudice, is rarely actually funny). About 90% of the characters are Silly Characters, and many of them are carbon copies of each other. I'd say the book spends more time with satire than romance.(Jul. 2021)

[thegalaxygirl · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I have read this book many times, and I still enjoy it. The characters of the sisters Elinor and Marianne people I would like to meet. Austen's genius is in her characters, and her deft maneuvering of them as she utilizes them to comment on culture and society.

The only things I find disappointing in this novel are the relationships at the end. I think Elinor and Colonel Brandon are much better suited to each other. Edward is so inarticulate and emasculated that it's hard to see what she sees in him.

It's interesting to see how everyone changes their tunes about Willoughby. His actions are reprehensible, yet when he expresses remorse (doing nothing to alleviate the injuries his actions have caused) even Elinor softens toward him. No! The man is a charming sociopath. He showed everyone who he was.

[elizabethcromb · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

The English of 200 years ago doesn't translate easily to 21st centuryso it is difficult to tell whether Austen is being satirical, serious, witty or critical of characters. But obviously she wasn't a fan of marriage for money and the lack of freedom of choice for women.

[cdvicarage · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I've read this many times so I don't get the plot twists anymore but it's still an engaging read. My view of the sisters has definitely changed over the years and I now have very little sympathy for Marianne's behaviour.

[smashbasile · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I must admit that I didn't love this and I'm really bummed about it, because I've heard lots of good things. I just couldn't get into it and I kept zoning out and having to backtrack. I don't even know if I got enough out of it to write a review, but here we are...

[seriousgrace · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Marianne, rejected by John Willoughby, is impetuous and needs sense. Her sister, Elinor, is the sensible one who will not let on that she is crushed when Edward Ferras plans to marry another. Sense and Sensibility tells the story of two very different romances. Although both are rejected they deal with it in different ways. To utter the words extinction of the individuality is to imply that the price of marriage is a loss of one's sense of self. Threaded through the story of romance is another, more societal, theme of male dominated lineage. Austen was extremely observant about the world around her. She chose to write abut the country gentry because they stayed in her head, sometimes for years. Like other women authors of her time, Austen published Sense and Sensibility anonymously.
As an aside, I have read a lot of critical reviews of Sense and Sensibility and I have to wonder if Jane's ghost laughs at the critics who took their task too seriously. Is Jane a psychiatric radical? She is a philosophical conservative? How deep can one delve into the ideology of sense and sensibility? Did she fashion Fanny after the Shakespearean character of Iago?

[cheryl_in_cc_nv · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Read for Rolla library irl book club. I hope someone else did, too. It is a challenge to get through, and much is, honestly, rather dated and dull. But these young women are really an awful lot like modern teenagers. For example, when Marianne suffers from sad news, she 'feeds and encourages' her own 'violent sorrow.' Another example, of the wit and grace of the writing: a b* woman is described: 'a lucky contraction of the brow had rescued her countenance from insipidity, by giving it the strong characters of pride and ill-nature.' So I do agree with those who say the book still has value. Still, I don't find it to be much more than a YA (or maybe NA) romance.

[castlelass · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Story of two sisters of different temperaments. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, their younger sister and mother, are forced to relocate when their father dies, and his estate passes to their half-brother. They become interested in men who are either not available or not responsible. Elinor “possessed a strength of understanding, and coolness of judgment, which qualified her, though only nineteen, to be the counsellor of her mother.” Marianne “was sensible and clever; but eager in everything; her sorrows, her joys, could have no moderation. She was generous, amiable, interesting: she was everything but prudent.”

Published in 1811, it is Jane Austen’s first novel and reflects social mores related to money, inheritance, and social classes of the time period. It is a story of overcoming obstacles and disappointments. It is also a comedy of manners, though the humor is subtle. The prose is elaborate and circuitous, as is typical of the era, so it requires a bit of patience to get through it. It contains love triangles, misunderstandings, and drama. I tend to enjoy reading the classics and found this a pleasant reading experience.

[mrsdanaalbasha · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Sense and Sensibility is so beautifully written, the story of Elinor and Marianne Dashwood facing an uncertain future. Marianne's impulsive behaviour, Elinor's sensitivity to social convention, the intelligent and charming Mr. Edward Ferrars, the handsome Mr. John Willoughby and the more thoughtful and compassionate Colonel Brandon.

I always wondered about Mrs. Dashwood and Margaret, and how their stories continued. My favorite adaptation is the 2008 miniseries.

I always feel like Marianne but I wish I was more like Elinor, sensible, patient, good at hiding her feelings, amiable but never snobbish. My feelings seem to me all so obvious like Marianne, who is wild, natural, emotional, romantic and passionate. I dare say that her horrible experiences with her father's death, Willoughby breaking her heart and maturing made her find more balance... but at heart I think Marianne will always be wild.

[thebooksofwrath · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is the novel that allowed me to spread the wings of my feminine side and embrace a little chick-litting without having to feel any less of a man (not that this novel is chick-lit, or that I'm saying there's anything wrong with chick-lit...but I think you get the point). Before Jane Austen, I never would have thought it possible to craft a love story so exquisitely and nobly, avoiding all of the maudlin that is so often paired with romance books. But that isn't to say Jane Austen isn't sentimental (what would romance be without it?), but that she embraces her sentimentality with such a matronly deportment that it causes one to reassess all the negative connotations one may possess about women's literature, or at least it did for me.

[judygibson-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I don't remember how I rated Pride and Prejudice but I enjoyed the cutting social commentary just as entertaining in this one. Characterization was a little less smooth but the action still fun to follow.

[bookworm12_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

 I saw this performed this summer and fell in love with the smart choices and beautiful production. It was a pleasure to read the adapted play. The added scenes between Elinor and Edward spark with chemistry. The little sister, Margaret, is fleshed out and I love the depth her naturalist tendencies add to the story. A brilliant stage adaptation for anyone who loves the original novel.

[cecrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

For a novel that is two hundred years old, it hasn't lost its shine. Granted, I'd introduce the central characters more clearly at the start and update some of the language (probable reasons why practical jokers who submit it to publishers today find the manuscript rejected), but it all moves right along. Mr. and Mrs. Palmer are standouts, such a hilarious couple - her silliness and his grumpiness - I could read their dialogue all day, and I've certainly seen echoes of it in other works that came after.

I'm on the 'sense' side of the divide, personality-wise, but even I have to admit it's Elinor's behaviour that has fallen by the wayside in the two centuries since. What sister now who cared for her sibling's welfare would only apply for her mother to inquire what was wrong? Or not share that she too was experiencing a similar disappointment, so they might commiserate, instead of feeling bound by promise to a stranger? I also have a melancholy feeling about Marianne's harnessing of her sensibility, and her being surprisingly denied a fairy-tale ending (however much Austen tries to dress up the one she assigns while moralizing.) To me it sounds like all the wind has gone out of her sails, a woman surrendering her life's pleasures to a nunnery. This is the template that Thakeray so blatantly defied with Becky Sharp a few decades later.

[tuusannuuska-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I have finally decided to take the plunge and start slogging through the classics. Reviewing a classic as someone who reads for pleasure more than anything else feels a little daunting, though. Do I try to to be critical and analytical or do I review this as I would any other book? No idea.

First things first: I read romance books for the emotional impact. Like word candy for my brain. Reading a book about two sisters trying deseprately to procure good husbands because that is the be-all and end-all of any woman's existence is a little like eating rasins when you have a hankering for chocolate. Sure, they're both sweet, and sure the raisins are probably a lot better for you than the chocolate would have been. But a bunch of puny raisins will never fool my brain into believing I'm actually eating chocolate; no oxytocin or endorphins for me, oh no, only sticky teeth!

I did like the flowery writing more than I would have in a contemporary work, though, because the more convoluted a turn of phrase, the more aesthetic the writer, at the time. And it's never complex as such, so the story itself was easy enough to stay on top of. If only I'd given a single doo doo for which man which sister ended up with.

If I were to review this as a critical thinker who took into consideration the time period in which this was written, or had an appreciation for the language used, or cared about marriage games in general, I would probably hold this in high regard. Then again, if I were to review this as myself, a rather escapist reader who just wants to enjoy herself with a good book, or at least to be given some serious food for thought, I would have to say I was intensely bored throughout the story. Especially the first half was painful to get through.

However, I will persevere and move on to the next Austen. At some point. But not straight away.

[csaavedra_894108 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

At times the excessive attention to the subject of matches between idle rentist families of 19th century Britain makes this book pretty monotonous. Prose is pretty wonderful though, and towards the end the story becomes a bit more captivating. It's going to be a while before I read Austen again.

[sriddell_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Wonderfully written - and absolutely ridiculous "manners" romance.

Glad I read it, but I preferred Pride and Prejudice.

[sjgirl-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Worth the re-read though still not my favorite Jane Austen. I do love these sisters and their bond even if I’m not particularly a fan of their romantic options, this is one of those occasions where spinsterhood would have felt like a happier ending.

The pacing of this one is a struggle for me at times, not caring for the men definitely contributed to that since much of the story involves pining and heartbreak over unworthy guys and the lengthy chunks of speculation and explanations didn’t help either, it frequently feels more like it’s recapping events rather than being in the moment, which is maybe remnants of when Sense and Sensibility was originally conceived to be an epistolary novel?

Where this shines most is in its two heroines, their dimensional personalities, the way the title qualities apply to each of them to some degree and the fascinating differences in how each handles feeling jilted.

[edwinbcn · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I tremendously enjoyed reading Jane Austen's Sense and sensibility. For once I wished I could close off all knowledge about Austen and her time, and hadn't read the critical introduction by Tony Tanner. This is really a story to enjoy without all the academic knowledge lurking around. On the other hand, Austen's style paired with all that knowledge makes for supremely sublime reading.

[nosborm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

So I started off thinking this book was meh, but once I got over the slump of the first 100 pages I (surprisingly) really enjoyed it. Keeping track of names and relations was a bit tricky at times (but no harder and actually a bit easier than Game of Thrones). Knowing that unmarried people are Miss and married people are Mrs is important was well as her use of the younger before someone's name if they are the younger sister. I enjoyed this book so much I was trying to guess the ending before I even got there and I was wrong how it turned out (but thoroughly enjoyed it nonetheless). It seems that I just needed to approach this book with the right frame of mind. I plan on reading something by Austen next, probably Pride and Prejudice. My only question is whether Thomas was supposed to be a slave? It wasn't made clear in the books but from the way Austen portrays him I think that is what she is getting at.

[cyderry · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This classic novel by Jane Austen is the tale of the Dashwood family and how the daughters, Elinor and Marianne, embody the Common sense (Sense) and emotion (Sensibility) in each of the sisters. The death of their father which leaves them homeless (he left their home to their half brother, John), is made more difficult when John's wife convinces him that the sisters don't need him to supplement their income even though John had promised his father that he would take care of his sisters. Each sister has to embrace the quality of the other sister to find their happiness.

I'm not a fan of this book. It seem to be very preachy and the characters of Elinor and Marianne very 2 dimensional. But I can check it off my ist of unread classics.

[amzzz_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

My interest in this waxed and waned. I found myself getting a little confused between the two girls and their suitors, but it was an enjoyable read (listen) nonetheless.

[drfuriosa · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Honestly, this may not be Austen's best, but it gave me all the delight I needed, as well as a lot to consider with keeping the balance between raw emotion and overly controlled reason. Plus, no one writes vulgar characters better. Fanny Dashwood, Lucy Steele, and Robert Ferrars are deliciously gross and fun to hate on. Also, I genuinely love Mrs. Jennings.

[stillatim · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Less funny and more tiresome than I remember it, which makes me very sad. I have clearly become a worse person since I read this in my mid-twenties.

[john257hopper · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is my first reading of this novel which is one of the two most famous of Austen's novels, along with Pride and Prejudice (which I have not managed to finish, though I will try it again some time). This is the story of the lives and loves of the Dashwood sisters, Marian and Elinor and, while I enjoyed the first half, my interest tailed off in the middle, and only resumed slightly further towards the end. While I hugely admire Austen's clever use of language and her place as one of the giants of English literature is fully deserved, those of her novels I most enjoy are Northanger Abbey as a pastiche of the Gothic horror genre, Mansfield Park for its more unusual characters and scenarios and Persuasion for its setting in Bath and Lyme Regis, two towns I love.

[allandanybooks · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Jane Austen will always be a legendary writer. I've always known her work, Pride & Prejudice, and it will always be my favourite one but Sense and Sensibility didn't disappoint in the least. It so amazing to be able to read these works from the 1800s and to be able to see what it was really like to be a woman in those years. I love how Austen can make the characters so real that, at least for me, it was like I was reading the life story of a family member. I wished all the best for Elinor and Marianne and I almost cried when I got to the end and got to know how they story ended. Jane Austen's works are stories of real living in the 1800s and it totally shows how hard it was to be the woman everybody expected you to be. I cannot wait to get my hands on other books by Jane Austen and I'm sure that I will enjoy them as much as I did this one and Pride & Prejudice.

[spiralsheep · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

93/2020. Not as laugh aloud farcically amusing as P&P but the denouement does include several of the bitchiest lines Austen ever published, including this gem about Edward Ferrars: "[...] after experiencing the blessings of *one* imprudent engagement, contracted without his mother's consent, as he had already done for more than four years, nothing less could be expected of him in the failure of *that*, than the immediate contraction of another."

Interestingly, I have far more sympathy for Marianne now than when I eye-rolled my way through reading S&S as a set book as a teenager at school. With the hindsight of age and experience I've also realised that Elinor isn't nearly as sensible as she thinks she is. However, I always knew that Colonel Brandon > Edward Ferrars. And why wasn't there a Mrs Jennings in my life when I was a teenager? I would've appreciated her far more than Elinor or Marianne did!

Reading notes

"probabilities and proofs" sound like a missing Blackadder the Third episode about maths. Why isn't there a maths themed romance novel with this title? I'd read it!

Lol 1: "His temper might perhaps be a little soured by finding, like many others of his sex, that through some unaccountable bias in favour of beauty, he was the husband of a very silly woman, - but she knew that this kind of blunder was too common for any sensible man to be lastingly hurt by it."

Lol 2: "Well, it is the oddest thing to me, that a man should use such a pretty girl so ill! But when there is plenty of money on one side, and next to none on the other, Lord bless you! they care no more about such things!"

I still find Edward's wanton scissor-destruction both distressing and offensive. What a spoiled brat he is! (At least they weren't embroidery scissors.)

[scottcholstad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

My absolute favorite Austen novel! Yet somehow it's typically been overlooked for other, more famous, novels of hers, including in the classroom, which I think is a shame. This is a delightful work, and it is both representative of that era and shows off her talent quite well, IMO. If you've read anything of hers, but not this, and if you like any of it, please try this one out! Recommended.