Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen (Book Analysis): Detailed Summary, Analysis and Reading Guide

By Bright Summaries

Unlock the more straightforward side of Sense and Sensibility with this concise and insightful summary and analysis!

This engaging summary presents an analysis of Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen, which follows the romantic trials and tribulations of two sisters, Marianne and Elinor Dashwood. While Marianne is impetuous and rushes headlong into relationships with no regard for social propriety, Elinor is much more reserved, to the point that she is often seen as cold and unfeeling. As well as exploring their contrasting approaches to love, Austen paints a vivid and humorous portrait of 19th-century middle-class society and its conventions. Sense and Sensibility first appeared in 1811, making it Austen’s first published novel. Along with her other celebrated novels (Northanger Abbey, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma and Persuasion), it has captivated generations of readers and is still widely read and studied today. It has also inspired an Academy Award-winning 1995 film.

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This in-depth and informative reading guide brings you:
• A complete plot summary
• Character studies
• Key themes and symbols
• Questions for further reflection

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• Language: English
• Publisher: BrightSummaries.com
• Release date: Dec 13, 2018
• ISBN: 9782808012942

Book preview

ENGLISH NOVELIST

Born in Steventon in 1775.

Died in Winchester in 1817.

Notable works:

Pride and Prejudice (1813), novel

Mansfield Park (1814), novel

Persuasion (1818), novel

Jane Austen was born in Hampshire in 1775, the daughter of an Anglican rector. Although the Austens had a modest income, Jane and her siblings were encouraged to read widely. She wrote her first spoof novella, Love and Freindship (1790) – misspelling deliberate – when she was just 14. Jane apparently read excerpts of the work aloud to her family, developing a writing style characterised by social observation and wit.

In 1801, Jane moved from Hampshire to Bath with her parents and sister Cassandra. Their life in the city was cut short, however, when her father died in 1805. Jane, her mother and Cassandra finally settled in the village of Chawton, where Jane wrote her most famous novels: Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Northanger Abbey (1818) and Persuasion. In 1816, at the age of 41, she became ill and died the following year, possibly of Addison’s disease. She continued to write until the very end and is buried in Winchester Cathedral.

A DOMESTIC DRAMA

Genre: novel

Reference edition: Austen, J. (1995) Sense and Sensibility. London: Penguin.

1stedition: 1811

Themes: sisterhood, passion, love, society, coming-of-age, money

Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first published novel. It is thought that a first draft may have been written as early as 1795, when Austen was just