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Sense and Sensibility

4.03 of 5 stars 4.03 · rating details · 439,074 ratings · 6,485 reviews

Complete and Unabridged

Unfairly deprived of their family inheritance by the grasping Mrs John Dashwood and her husband, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood and their mother find themselves in greatly reduced circumstances.

Compelled to leave Norland in Sussex for Barton Cottage in Devonshire, the two sisters are soon accepted into their new society. Marianne, whose sweet radiance...more

Paperback, 562 pages

Published 1996 (first published 1811)

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Apr 06, 2013 Kelly rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Austen fans, women

Shelves: fiction, brit-lit, regency, owned, 19th-century, mawwiageiswhatbringsustogethertoday, its-the-quiet-ones

New review to come eventually. Can't quite put it all into words yet.
* * *
ORIGINAL:Ah, the third member of the Holy Trinity of Austen. Also deservedly so. This is my intellectual favorite of the Austens. By that, I'm not calling it "intellectual" I'm just saying that taking emotional attachment to other books out of it, this is my objective favorite Austen. I actually believe that the story of the women is better than Pride and Prejudice. Go on, shoot me for that one. I've taken it before for t...more New review to come eventually. Can't quite put it all into words yet.
* * *
ORIGINAL:Ah, the third member of the Holy Trinity of Austen. Also deservedly so. This is my intellectual favorite of the Austens. By that, I'm not calling it "intellectual" I'm just saying that taking emotional attachment to other books out of it, this is my objective favorite Austen. I actually believe that the story of the women is better than Pride and Prejudice. Go on, shoot me for that one. I've taken it before for that. The romance might be better, more tight, more like one would idealistically want in Pride and Prejudice, but the ones here are more realistic and would have a better chance of lasting in real life. Colonel Brandon and Marianne are one of my favorite flawed couples of any piece of literature. This book finds faith in romances that are less than perfect, heroes who don't act like heroes (Colonel Brandon wins over the romantic figure of Willoughby in the end), and heroines who are at times geniunely ridiculous in the things they choose to do. Not because Austen writes them ridiculously. All women do things like that, and these girls find their way to love anyway. And not with the people conventional plotlines or even gothic strangeness would normally put them with either. By all rights, Eleanor and Colonel Brandon should make a quietly sensible couple, if one thinks about it. But that's not how this ends. There's enough romance left in it for some poetry to how the story ends. None of the men are one or even two dimensional, either. They don't merely serve as the means to the narcissitic heroine's end. No cardboard Prince Charmings with one ridiculous flaw here. They're very believable. I've always thought one of the strengths of Austen is that she writes novels that are undoubtably marketed to women, but men can still see themselves in her heroes if they read them.

The movie is my favorite Jane Austen movie, as a side note. And one of my favorites in general. I've been watching it since I was about 13. It's beautiful. So is the soundtrack. Emma Thompson's performance alone is worth the viewing. Ang Lee.. before he switched over to gay cowboys. Yes, he did period pieces. Who would have known, right?(less)

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Oct 11, 2012 s.penkevich rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to s.penkevich by: Sparrow

Shelves: classics, austen, love

'Know your own happiness. Want for nothing but patience -- or give it a more fascinating name: Call it hope.'

What does it mean for one to be 'sensible'? As we are all individuals, with our own needs, is it sensible to always act according to our countenance (to steal a lovely phrase from Austen), to keep true to ourselves, or is there a code of manners that we should adhere to in order to maintain a proper course of action? Austen’s aptly titled Sense and Sensibility, a staggeringly impressive f...more 'Know your own happiness. Want for nothing but patience -- or give it a more fascinating name: Call it hope.'

What does it mean for one to be 'sensible'? As we are all individuals, with our own needs, is it sensible to always act according to our countenance (to steal a lovely phrase from Austen), to keep true to ourselves, or is there a code of manners that we should adhere to in order to maintain a proper course of action? Austen’s aptly titled Sense and Sensibility, a staggeringly impressive first publication from 19 year old Austen, probes the very ideas of it’s title. Told through the juxtaposition of two sisters forging their own sensible rationalities as they find themselves in a society fueled by social standings and money, they discover that love does not always fit pleasantly into such a world.

An impressive feature of the Jane Austen novels is her ability to construct a broad scale society to immerse her heroines. She juggles a large cast of characters, each with a uniquely rounded personality and varied level of likeability, which gives a realistic scope and portrayal to the story. Just like in our own lives, we see Elinor and Marianne dealing with friends, rivals, busybodies and outright scoundrels. Austen manages to flesh her characters out with positive and negative traits, giving even the despicable ones a moment to plead their case. The reader is left to either accept or reject such justifications on their own terms, and, in a way, if even the ‘villainous’ act in what they see to be a sensible manner, Austen calls into question our own ideals and interpretations on the matter. She is clever at keeping an ironic flair to her characters, offering a dark side to ones you initially thought amiable, and bestowing grief of less-than-Prince-Charming characteristics to those who should be the true champion of hearts.

The actions of each character show the variety of ways one can interact and react within society, offering a wide number of actions to decide between when declaring what is ‘truly sensible’. The two sisters experience near-mirrored heartbreak and respond in polarizing manners. Is it more sensible to keep your feelings buried, suffering in solitude, always appearing calm and collect at the risk of seeming cold, or more sensible to wear one’s heart on their sleeve, falling into self-pity while drawing the attention of those who can care and offer support? Even the smallest characters can be looked at in this ways. Is sensibility, to toy with hearts, to stick your nose in another’s business, to marry for love with no money or for money with no love?

Perhaps a proper title could have also been Cents and Sensibility, as Austen takes careful aim at the dominating social constructs. The opinions on money, and it’s unavoidable, necessary power over society and the not-so-well-off Dashwood’s particularly, is a crucial element to what is sensible. The social commentary is thick and delicious. We witness many broken hearts in the name of money, and many hearts set on love faced with crippling financial consequences. The final results of the novel however, goes to prove the lyrics 'you can't always get what you want, but when you try sometimes, you'll find you get what you need.'

While I began reading the Austen/Bronte novels feeling like it is something I should know going into a literature degree, thinking ‘oh well, I guess I should know these’, I’ve come to discover I really enjoy them. Especially reading them alongside so many post-modernist works of genius; Austen has been the anchor keeping me from being lost in the Zone. Occasionally it is nice to escape the bells and whistles of modern lit, to step out of the multi-layered metafiction and swirling narratives that I so love, and read a novel that is just as incredible on a powerful but elegant voice, ironic wit, and an acute sense of society alone. I highly recommend Jane Austen to anyone. I want to show up with flowers for Elinor and spend all day sipping tea with her from dainty cups and sighing about weather and society. However, I would be doing a great disservice to you and two the two fine reviewers I am about to speak of, to continue keeping your time and not sending you to these two outstanding reviews: Liberty’s, who I’ve come to consider my professor in all that is Austen/Bronte/Woolf, etc, and the wonderful Kelly, who has said everything I wanted to say and more, but far better. Austen’s world makes us all question our morality and actions, and the world is a better place for it.
4/5
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Jul 09, 2011 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, classics, easton-press, literature, 1800s, romantical, love-those-words, classics-european

I love Jane Austen.
I LOVE Jane Austen.
I LOVE JANE AUSTEN!!
I…LOVE…JANE…AUSTEN!!
I……LOVE…..JANE..…AUSTEN!!

I still twitch a bit, but I'm getting more and more man-comfortable saying that because there no denying that it’s true. Normally, I am not much of a soapy, chick-flick, mani-pedi kinda guy. I don’t spritz my wine, rarely eat quiche and have never had anything waxed (though the list of things that need it grows by the hour).

But I would walk across a desert in bloomers and a parasol to read M...more

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Nov 16, 2009 Elizabeth rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: reviewed, virginia-woolf-recommends, boston-janeites, jane-austen-made-me-do-it

I was in an interesting discussion recently about sense versus sensibility. A reviewer had taken Jane Austen to task for being too clean and passionless. The complaints, heard often enough, are that she does not tackle sweeping vistas of emotion. She cares too much about money. Her lovers don't make great protestations of undying love. She does not write with poetry. She is too sharp and too unkind. She rewards the good and punishes the bad, and doesn't create a lot of gray.

The arguments, which...more

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Mar 05, 2013 Jason Koivu rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Call me Elinor.

Being the older sibling, while growing up I often felt like I was shoved into the role of being the sensible one, the reasonable one, the responsible one. That is how I was seen. That is what people believed of me. Underneath the skin of the rational, reserved tut-tutter writhed an often non-sensical, unreasonable, irresponsible being. But it took the occurrence of extreme circumstances for others to see it.

Such is the life of Elinor Dashwood, the elder sister in a small, displac...more

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Aug 20, 2007 Eric Althoff rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Hmmm, how to critique one of the most revered writers of romance literature? Now, before all of your Jane-ites get on my case for being unromantic or whatever, let me say only that unfortuantely, I read "Persuasion," Austen's last novel, and found it to be one of the best books I've ever read. Now having read "Sense and Sensibility," I will say that it truly doese feel like a first novel, as if the author was still trying to find her voice. So I've done the bookends of Austen, much like a concer...more

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Oct 06, 2011 Patrizia O rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: storie-di-donne, classici, autori-autrici-gran-bretagna

Taglia e cuci all'inglese…
Il pregio principale del libro è sicuramente lo stile ironico della Austen: ho spesso avuto la sensazione che l’autrice, con sguardo sornione e benevole, prendesse in giro i suoi personaggi, le loro manie futili e l’eccessiva importanza attribuita alle apparenze. L’ironia è la caratteristica dei romanzi della Austen che, secondo me, è più in sintonia con la sensibilità contemporanea.
La trama, invece, di questo romanzo è molto esile (in certi passaggi mi ricorda tropp...more

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Jun 04, 2008 Abigail rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Readers

Shelves: literature-classics

Review Temporarily Removed.

6 likes · like · see review

Jan 29, 2011 Malak Alrashed rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People who enjoy classic

Shelves: favorites

I'm really finding it hard to review this book because I have had different feelings through reading it. I mean at the very beginning of the story I thought I might give it four stars while in the middle of it I thought it would be 3 stars instead and at last I said this book deserves five!

There're things that I loved about it, things I hated, and things I wished they were mentioned, so let me start from the beginning ..

Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen's first published work written in the...more

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Mar 25, 2008 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. When Ang Lee's version of the movie came out, which Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay for, I read that she said it was the most difficult Austen book to adapt. And I can see why. It was Austen's first book, and it's quite densely written. Not a lot of dialogue, so screenwriters had to make it up as they went along. Overall I liked it, but some things didn't work for me: Col. Brandon's young ward just HAPPENED to get knocked up by Willoughby of all people? Really?? And I've read that many people...more When Ang Lee's version of the movie came out, which Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay for, I read that she said it was the most difficult Austen book to adapt. And I can see why. It was Austen's first book, and it's quite densely written. Not a lot of dialogue, so screenwriters had to make it up as they went along. Overall I liked it, but some things didn't work for me: Col. Brandon's young ward just HAPPENED to get knocked up by Willoughby of all people? Really?? And I've read that many people had problems with Marianne marrying Brandon. I can see why Willoughby was a poor choice for her--he's a selfish bastard and they're a lot alike in their temperments--and I love Brandon probably because of the way Alan Rickman played him (I love me some Alan Rickman--the definition of an ugly-sexy man!), but to end a book where they get married on literally the last page because Marianne has toned herself down and has learned to "appreciate" Brandon, when she didn't really give a crap about him most of the book, merely seems like she's settling for him. Which to Austen I'm sure is a good trait, but to the reader...it sells Brandon short. But he loves her, so I guess everyone's happy. And it's too convenient that Lucy Steele just happened to flatter Robert Ferrars into marrying her when he didn't seem to even think she was attractive, but they're both so awesomely repulsive that I can let it fly. When Austen hates her characters (and there are many in this story she can barely tolerate), she REALLY hates them. It's so great! Pride and Prejudice was definitely an improvement, but you can see the budding talents of Austen from this.

And by the way...PBS has a new version of S&S starting this Sunday that i was able to...procure earlier (let's just leave it at that), and it's really great. More faithful to the book than the Ang Lee version, and well cast (although Willoughby looks like a snake in the grass from the moment you meet him, but that's alright with me).

Ok--this is my official break from the Jane Austen oeuvre!!(less)

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Jan 24, 2009 Tatiana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Smug older sisters

Recommended to Tatiana by: My older sister, hah!

Shelves: classics

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. SPOILER WARNING: The thing I did like about this book is that it's Jane Austen, and she always will entertain you without dragging you through any horrible ordeals. If there's a war going on, we won't hear the heart-wrenching stories of orphans, squalor, and agony. The only way we 'll know about it is that soldiers look so handsome in their uniforms and some girls flirt with them shockingly. In the end, we always know that our heroine will get married and live happily ever after. Sorry if that s...more SPOILER WARNING: The thing I did like about this book is that it's Jane Austen, and she always will entertain you without dragging you through any horrible ordeals. If there's a war going on, we won't hear the heart-wrenching stories of orphans, squalor, and agony. The only way we 'll know about it is that soldiers look so handsome in their uniforms and some girls flirt with them shockingly. In the end, we always know that our heroine will get married and live happily ever after. Sorry if that spoils them for anyone.

What I *don't* like about this one is that the sensible steady Elinors of the world don't really understand the passionate impulsive Mariannes at all, and so they're quite ungracious to them. This is definitely written from the point of view of an Elinor. I suppose since so many novels are written by the Mariannes, it's only fair for the Elinors to have just ONE from their point of view, still, as a Marianne myself I think Jane got it all wrong here. To me the ending stank horrifically. The "answer" was for Marianne to become someone she wasn't and marry someone she didn't love and be content with that. It makes me choke to think of it. The suicide at the end of "Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon", which the director called "the Chinese 'Sense and Sensibility'", was much truer to what the Marianne character would have done, I think. In the novel, though, she chose to do it by killing her true self and living a lie. Colonel Brandon deserved better than that, I think, and so did Marianne herself.

Not all Willoughbys turn out to be bad hats, in other words. The answer, in my opinion, was for her to find a good Willoughby.

Thinking about this novel has made me revisit the silly simpering flirty flighty girls that Jane is always showing us we DON'T want to be like. The mother and the sisters, for instance, in Pride and Prejudice. I think Jane paints them as though they aren't real people at all, as though their thoughts and dreams are somehow those of lesser beings. I think there's a great deal to question there, and perhaps the lack of understanding on Jane's part is as much the problem as the girls' behavior. Sense and Sensibility shows that struggle directly, as we're given a much fuller portrait of Marianne's personality than we ever are of the Bennett younger sisters. (less)

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Tatiana Oh, I'm so glad you're okay. Why are you so angry, then? And why do you come to my review which tells my opinion about a book and then declare that I'...more
Jan 18, 2013 04:38pm

Jennifer Goodness, you give yourself far too much credit! You have served no personal hurt to me. There is no hurt to be resolved. I have been pointing out the...more
Jan 20, 2013 02:23pm

Mar 13, 2012 Anastasia rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classici, uk

(in vista dell'interrogazione di filosofia)

Cosa direbbe Parmenide dei libri della Austen: ..è evidente che Jane è immutabile, eterna e perfetta in quanto Jane. Mi sembra chiaro che Jane è, e non può non essere. Non condivido l'idea di un cambiamento, l'essere è eterno e perfetto in quanto immutabile, e Jane è eterna nel suo essere, non può cambiare, per piacere. I suoi libri ne sono la prova.

Cosa direbbe Eraclito dei libri della Austen: ma sta' zitto, Parmenide, brutto idiota. Se prendiamo in c...more

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Dec 03, 2009 Daniel rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 2009

It was poor timing on my part to read "Sense and Sensibility" soon after finishing "Middlemarch," a book I felt was, while not without flaws, a masterpiece. The two books, though written decades apart, invite comparisons: both have somewhat large casts of characters whose relations the reader is required to keep straight, both lean toward the satirical in their views of society, and both focus at least in part on young English women falling in love and arranging their marriages.

The problem is th...more

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Aug 20, 2008 Kerry rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, fromthelibrary, chick_lit, romance, about_a_woman

This my first Jane Austen.

Okay, I LOVED this book. I don't even know why. It's about . . . girls who like boys! Who are jerks! Um, the end! But it was funny. But clever funny, which is my favorite kind. And I enjoyed deciphering the late 18th century prose. It made me feel smart, just to figure out what she was saying half the time!

Also I love all the wacky British society stuff. Like sending notes! And walking places! And having breakfast at other peoples' houses! And I enjoyed figuring out the...more

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Apr 03, 2008 Joanna rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

While Ms. Austen has given us several entirely charming and personable characters, a lot of things simply did not work for me in this novel. I, however, did very much enjoy the coterie of profoundly annoying and conniving women personified in the Jennings and Middletons Palmers and Miss Steeles, respectively. Premium!

I, perhaps, need to read more about Regency-era etiquette and protocol to understand how Mr. Ferrar's actions are to be considered honourable rather than callow and weak-willed, the...more

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Apr 04, 2008 Leanna rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

In anticipation of Masterpiece’s adaptation on Sunday, I reread Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility. I hadn’t read the book in over ten years and had forgotten many of the details, but I liked it as much today as I did then.

Elinor and Marianne Dashwood each deal with the joys and heartaches of young love: Elinor is the more sedate of the two sisters, and Marianne the more passionate. Naturally, as an emotionless automaton, I always relate more with Elinor who loves quietly and endures well. In f...more

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May 06, 2013 Stephen rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: and-saw-the-movie, audiobook, books-read-in-2013, culture, historical-fiction, literature, romance

Finished this and I'm NOT going to write a review that does it justice. There are plenty of those already. There are also plot synopses aplenty. Just a few personal notes on MY impressions about this book.

1) Hugh Grant made a much more charming Edward than the one Jane Austen created. While I like hers, I did find myself missing the Hugh Grant version at times.

2) The Colonel Brandon character was more saint-like in the book than in the movie version. I found that I liked them both.

3) I was mu...more

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Oct 03, 2011 Dennis rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This makes what, like four ladies books in a row for me? Yes. But is Jane Austen really for girls only? Sure, marriage and matchmaking are typically considered women's fare (seriously though, is it only women who marry? ...), and factor predominantly as themes throughout most of Jane Austen's writing, but sociologically she was the voice of realism commenting on her times where one's everything quite directly depended upon marrying well. So naturally such considerations as how many pounds per ye...more This makes what, like four ladies books in a row for me? Yes. But is Jane Austen really for girls only? Sure, marriage and matchmaking are typically considered women's fare (seriously though, is it only women who marry? ...), and factor predominantly as themes throughout most of Jane Austen's writing, but sociologically she was the voice of realism commenting on her times where one's everything quite directly depended upon marrying well. So naturally such considerations as how many pounds per year or whether one possesses the right connections and station in life were pivotal to setting up the narrative for that person's future comfort and well being.

Sense and Sensibility tells the story of two young English sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, the former whose reserve contains her emotions circumspect to a given situation, while the latter's more romantic extroversion scarcely can conceal her every feeling, at times with reckless abandon. The Dashwoods are the daughters of a landed gentry father who passes away unexpectedly, entrusting their care to his eldest son, John, from a previous marriage. John, unfortunately, is easily maneuvered by his premeditating wife, Fanny Farrars Dashwood, who convinces him to leave virtually nothing to his sisters and stepmother despite his promises.

While transitioning into a new life of uncertainty, Elinor develops inclinations of devotion for Edward Farrars, brother of Fanny Dashwood of all people. Meanwhile, Marianne is instantly smitten with the handsome and enigmatic John Willoughby who suddenly appears riding horseback in the rain to rescue her from a hillside accident. Willoughby is a gallant and charismatic playboy -- undoubtedly Reality TV star material for his times -- whose appeal garners the attentions and affections of swooning females wherever he may be. Colonel Brandon is a 30-something (gasp!) neighbor who is taken with 17-year-old Marianne Dashwood from the moment they meet. Sadly, Colonel Brandon, like the slower and more steady stalwarts in real life who less frequently grace either our imaginations or television screens, is sidelined from being the object of passion or desire in the dramas that ensue.

Subsequent chapters reveal the ins and outs of unexpected back stories about these folks that operate like chutes complicating our climb straight up the ladder to happily ever after. But this is precisely where much of the fun comes into play, both for the Dashwoods' lively and jovial busybody benefactress, Mrs. Jennings, who invites the sisters to her London home promising to seal up their marriage prospects, and for us too.

The real appeal of Jane Austen for me is her astonishing understanding of human nature and motivations, recorded decades, even a century and more ahead of what was to be uncovered by great psychologists, and her extraordinary ability to translate the thoughts and intentions of her characters onto the written page. Austen's talent for breathing life into people through her pen towers over nearly every other author I have read. This is another brilliant book that affirms her literary reputation in my view.(less)

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May 17, 2012 Claire rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: 800, jane, my-favourites, novels, uk, england, classics, read-in-english, georgian, read-in-2012

Marianne: What was that long conversation with Lucy Steele all about?
Elinor: Nothing of consequence; she was telling me her hopes and dreams.
Marianne: How very uninteresting.

Questo breve scambio non è presente nel romanzo, ma viene dalla miniserie targata BBC del 2008 (scritta da Andrew Davies) e secondo me rappresenta perfettamente, in poco spazio, il personaggio di Marianne.

Orgoglio e pregiudizio rimane, secondo me, il libro migliore di Jane Austen: è il più divertente, con un passo calibrato...more

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Jun 15, 2008 Akemi rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Despite the fact that I spent the last semester reading Victorian novels, I somehow felt the compulsion to finish this. I started it in January, but it got pushed aside for schoolwork.

I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'd rank it up there with Emma or Pride and Prejudice. Though, I haven't read P&P very recently, so I guess I'd have to re-read that to really compare. The storyline is rather similar, so it would be interesting to have a direct comparison. My experience with S&S might also...more Despite the fact that I spent the last semester reading Victorian novels, I somehow felt the compulsion to finish this. I started it in January, but it got pushed aside for schoolwork.

I enjoyed it, but I don't think I'd rank it up there with Emma or Pride and Prejudice. Though, I haven't read P&P very recently, so I guess I'd have to re-read that to really compare. The storyline is rather similar, so it would be interesting to have a direct comparison. My experience with S&S might also have been marred by the fact that I read it over such a long period of time. I can't quite identify what makes Emma better than this. The quality of the prose in Emma just seemed better; I found myself becoming bored in parts of S&S and had trouble following which middle-aged interfering rich lady was which, while every character in Emma is immediately identifiable and hilarious. The secondary characters are definitely way inferior to those in Emma. As I said, I had trouble differentiating Lady Middleton from Mrs. Jennings from whomever else, whereas I will (hopefully) always remember Miss Bates or Mr. Collins.

There is plenty of Austen's typical biting sarcasm, which I enjoyed thoroughly:

"Elinor agreed to it all, for she did not think he deserved the compliment of rational opposition."

Can't find anymore at the moment, but it's pretty much everywhere.

I guess my boredom arose from lack of juice behind the individual characters, other than...Elinor. Marianne is more dramatic, but doesn't really have much of a (believable) personality behind the drama- I mean, seriously, would she really have settled for Colonel Brandon? Alan Rickman, perhaps, but not Austen's Colonel Brandon. There's even a section Elinor speculates as to why Marianne would fall for him- it was almost as if Austen was mocking her own conclusion, acknowledging that she was just trying to tie up loose ends even if they didn't make sense.

Oh, one more thing: I thought Austen's lack of sympathy is an amusing contrast to Eliot's in Middlemarch. Eliot always relates to her own characters and tries to at least prevent the reader from judging them, whereas Austen purposefully punishes her evil characters and rewards the good ones. Willoughby never reforms his ways and is represented to the end as a cad, while Lucy Steele and the Ferrars (other than Edward) suffer a similar fate:

"They (Lucy and Robert Ferrars) settled in town, received very liberal assistance from Mrs. Ferrars, were on the best terms imaginable with the Dashwoods; and setting aside the jealousies and ill will continually subsisting between Fanny and Lucy, in which their husbands of course took a part, as well as the frequent domestic disagreements between Robert and Lucy themselves, nothing could exceed the harmony in which they all lived together."

I think I would have gotten on better with Austen than Eliot, though I love both their writing.(less)

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Nov 30, 2007 Ann rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Jane Austen fans/those looking for a classic to read

Shelves: classics, romance

I’ve finally finished it! It’s a little sad to admit that, despite it’s being – I believe – the shortest of the Jane Austen books I’ve read, I do think it’s taken me the longest to read. However, the extended reading time should not reflect the quality of the book, but instead simply my own lack of fortitude. It is also, I think, partly because I already knew what happened, as I have seen – and loved – the movie with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet (which, if anyone wonders, I do think did an exc...more

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Jul 03, 2011 Callista rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature-esd

I think this story is overrated. There are plenty of Austen's finely tuned observations about social convention, snobbery, and greed; but I simply couldn't root for the romance between Elinor and Edward. He is, essentially, a spineless version of Willoughby the cad, except that he's redeemed by coming into his money and being able to choose the woman he really cares for instead of his convenient fiancee. Intelligent, kind, lovely Elinor deserves better. The story of Marianne and Colonel Brandon...more

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Aug 01, 2011 Relyn rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: everyone

Recommended to Relyn by: Jeffrey Lawson

Shelves: audiobooks, 2011-reread

Jeffrey and I are hosting a summer book club for some of his recently graduated students. They decided to go with Jane Austen for the first book since Mr. Lawson loves her so much. We picked S&S instead of P&P because I am working my way though all the Janes and I've read P&P many times.

I'm actually listening to it on audiobook and loving it. I was so excited when I pulled it up and began because it is read by Donada Peters. She's one of my favorite recorded book readers. I know her...more

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Feb 06, 2009 Erin rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

I would like to rank this higher than Pride & Prejudice, because I enjoyed it more, but I just can't bring myself to give it a 4. So consider it a 3.5 for now. I may change my mind later, as I did with Wuthering Heights (which I recently upgraded to a 4 based on the long-term impression it has left on me.) Although I appreciate Jane Austen for what it is and find that it raises interesting questions and topics of discussion and analysis, I find that her work lacks the depth of character and...more

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Oct 03, 2007 Jessica Reese rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: literature

Realizing that I may be found and attacked by a mob of Austenites, I must confess I am not necessarily an Austen fan. I find that an analytical/comparative study of several of her works is much more entertaining than process of actually reading one.

That being said, I did actually enjoy Sense and Sensibility, and I may be the only person in the world who believes Colonel Brandon is perhaps the best romantic hero she created-- not as perfectly upstanding as Darcy, but more realistic in the long r...more

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Mar 24, 2009 Ayu Palar rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Recommended to Ayu by: Sherien, Mitzie

Shelves: classics, austen

This might be shameful for an English literature student like me, but yup, this is the first Austen’s novel I read. For me personally, I still prefer Charlotte Bronte’s works, however now I understand why many people become such huge fans of Miss Austen. Her female characters are remarkable for their era. They’re oppresed but somehow they have their own ways to struggle. I gave three stars for Sense and Sensibility not because it’s so-so, but because I think it’s quite flat compared to the film....more

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Feb 15, 2009 Sara ♥ rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: audiobook, challenge-winter-2008, 2009, film, historical, general-fiction, romance

4.5 stars! I just finished. It was really cute. I'm kinda sad that it didn't have that whole Elinor-bursting-into-hysterics scene in it. Well, she did, but not with Edward sitting right there. Jane Austen has this way of skipping over the happy parts... But then there were extra scenes, too. Like Willoughby comes to the Palmer's house while Marianne is sick? Holy cow! I was soooo surprised!

It was SO SO SO SO CUTE! I loved it!

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May 05, 2013 Karen rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Audio Version read by Juliet Stevenson who is an established actress and has an amazing repertoire of Narrating performances. She also won the 2011 "Best Voice in FICTION & CLASSICS" award by AudioFile Magazine.

Being a sucker for every Jane Austen movie based on her books, I own every one of them. I LOVE the intrigue and romance of her characters and Sense and Sensibility has always been one of my favorites.

Austen has always been difficult for me to "read" because of the language style of th...more
Audio Version read by Juliet Stevenson who is an established actress and has an amazing repertoire of Narrating performances. She also won the 2011 "Best Voice in FICTION & CLASSICS" award by AudioFile Magazine.

Being a sucker for every Jane Austen movie based on her books, I own every one of them. I LOVE the intrigue and romance of her characters and Sense and Sensibility has always been one of my favorites.

Austen has always been difficult for me to "read" because of the language style of that era. I find it daunting at best even though I insist on owning the books. But listening...well that's another thing entirely! I thoroughly enjoyed the exceptional talent of Ms. Stevenson's portrayal of all the Austen characters.

After watching the film version so many times, I was surprised to learn of a few chapters and many details that were not included in the movie. (Okay, maybe not surprised because I know these kinds of things are left out all the time when movie scripts are written, but it was delightful to "discover" them in the book.) There was a whole chapter devoted to Willoughby and it begins:

"Elinor, starting back with a look of horror at the sight of him, obeyed the first impulse of her heart in turning instantly to quit the room, and her hand was already on the lock, when its action was suspended by his hastily advancing, and saying, in a voice rather of command than supplication, "Miss Dashwood, for half an hour--for ten minutes--I entreat you to stay."

This chapter is full of Willoughby confiding to Elinor, his confession regarding Marianne as well as his history of bad judgment and selfish interests. This was so interesting and I also enjoyed the ending which was much more conclusive than the movie version. I loved learning all the little details and background behind the characters which made me think "NOW I really understand all the feelings that motivated Elinor, Edward, Miss Steel and the rest."

I'm so glad I took the opportunity to "hear" the actual words as they were written by Jane Austen. The performance so eloquently done by Juliet Stevenson, faithfully captures the love, hopes, and dreams of the Dashwood sisters. It "completely satisfies" the listener which I believe is the true spirit of Jane Austen's writing.(less)

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Aug 17, 2011 Dominic rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic-literature

On the title page of my copy of Sense and Sensibility, Eudora Welty declares, "As nearly flawless as any fiction could be." And I believe she was not overstating here for this book is a beautiful exercise in balance. The plot is pitch-perfect, and the characters teeter-totter back and forth but just ever so subtly and always maintaining balance. And oh, those characters are fantastic! Austen gives us a delicious handful to abhor (Fanny, you wretched witch!) but the rest are delicately flawed, im...more On the title page of my copy of Sense and Sensibility, Eudora Welty declares, "As nearly flawless as any fiction could be." And I believe she was not overstating here for this book is a beautiful exercise in balance. The plot is pitch-perfect, and the characters teeter-totter back and forth but just ever so subtly and always maintaining balance. And oh, those characters are fantastic! Austen gives us a delicious handful to abhor (Fanny, you wretched witch!) but the rest are delicately flawed, imperfect human china dolls forever trying to cover up their nicks and cracks. They humor us, delight us, and most of all intrigue us, for there is always something a bit below the surface that is a bit closer to who they really are. The novel urges us on to keep looking, always looking closer, for that true self.

While Sense and Sensibility is not my favorite Austen book (and I sadly have only read three--shame!), the book's heroines are most like myself. Elinor and Marianne are not only two sides of a single coin, but are warring sides of my own self. There is the side that wants to express everything--the poet, the lover, the fool--and the side that ponders and examines everything--the pragmatist, the thinker, the realist. Count on Jane Austen to bring happy endings to both sides--and end up writing one of my favorite last sentences of all time.

Even the male characters are wonderfully drawn and build upon this motif of balance--between not just sensibility and sense, but honor and cowardliness, love and vanity.

Sense and Sensibility also happens to be my favorite movie inspired by a Jane Austen film. Emma Thompson's screenplay is perfect, and the film is full of such life and laughter. So yet again, was something a bit lost in knowing all the twists and turns of the novel (because the twists and turns are delicious and totally reward the reader)? Maybe. But I can honestly say that I really liked this book and learned a lot about how to develop balance in a book and a plot. Sense and Sensibility is near flawless indeed!(less)

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Oct 18, 2011 Pauline rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Elinor and her family gets their fortune taken away when their father dies. You see the struggles that this has put them all in, and you watch Elinor and Marianne battle love and society. Elinor falls in love with Edward, but it becomes apparent that because of her family's situation the proposal may never come. Although on day Ms. Steele comes to town and tells Elinor of her secret engagement to Edward. Swearing Elinor to secrecy keeps her hurting inside, but cannot tell a soul. Marianne falls...more

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topics	posts	views	last activity
in respectable manner or in respectable a manner	1	3	57 minutes ago
who is your favorite of Jane Austen's leading male characters?	245	602	5 hours, 52 min ago
What are your top two favorite Austen novels?	271	645	May 20, 2013 02:04pm
What would YOU change?	6	51	May 02, 2013 01:02pm
Lucy Steele discussion	34	206	Apr 21, 2013 02:58pm
Anyone else see the beginnings of "early" Darcy in JA's description of Mr. Palmer in Chapter 40?	1	30	Apr 20, 2013 05:22pm
Elinor stands for sense and Marianne represents sensibility. How far do you agree with this assesment of the novel?	41	250	Apr 15, 2013 06:56pm

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About Jane Austen

Jane Austen (16 December 1775 – 18 July 1817) was an English novelist whose works of romantic fiction, set among the landed gentry, earned her a place as one of the most widely read writers in English literature, her realism and biting social commentary cementing her historical importance among scholars and critics.

Austen lived her entire life as part of a close-knit family located on the lower fr...more

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