Ragione e sentimento

by Jane Austen, Maurizio Bartocci (translator)

Con Elinor e Marianne Dashwood, tra amore, perdita e speranza, Jane Austen ha creato un altro capitolo intramontabiledella letteratura mondiale.
Apparso la prima volta in forma anonima e subito amatissimo dai lettori, Ragione e sentimento è ambientato negli ultimi anni del Settecento e segue il passaggio all'età adulta delle sorelle Dashwood, Elinor, Marianne e Margaret. In seguito alla morte del padre, la proprietà in cui sono cresciute viene ereditata dal fratellastro maggiore John e da suo figlio, così le ragazze, insieme alla madre, sono costrette a traslocare nel modesto Barton Cottage, concesso in affitto da un lontano parente. Qui conosceranno i palpiti dell'amore e le insidie di una società tutta presa da trame di opportunismo e sete di ricchezza, ma arriveranno lo stesso a conoscere una felicità sincera, conquistandola a modo loro.

426 pages, Kindle Edition

First published October 30, 1811

About the author

Jane Austen was an English novelist known primarily for her six novels, which implicitly interpret, critique, and comment upon the English landed gentry at the end of the 18th century. Austen's plots often explore the dependence of women on marriage for the pursuit of favourable social standing and economic security. Her works are an implicit critique of the novels of sensibility of the second half of the 18th century and are part of the transition to 19th-century literary realism. Her deft use of social commentary, realism and biting irony have earned her acclaim among critics and scholars.

The anonymously published Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), were a modest success but brought her little fame in her lifetime. She wrote two other novels—Northanger Abbey and Persuasion, both published posthumously in 1817—and began another, eventually titled Sanditon, but died before its completion. She also left behind three volumes of juvenile writings in manuscript, the short epistolary novel Lady Susan, and the unfinished novel The Watsons.
Since her death Austen's novels have rarely been out of print. A significant transition in her reputation occurred in 1833, when they were republished in Richard Bentley's Standard Novels series (illustrated by Ferdinand Pickering and sold as a set). They gradually gained wide acclaim and popular readership. In 1869, fifty-two years after her death, her nephew's publication of A Memoir of Jane Austen introduced a compelling version of her writing career and supposedly uneventful life to an eager audience. Her work has inspired a large number of critical essays and has been included in many literary anthologies. Her novels have also inspired many films, including 1940's Pride and Prejudice, 1995's Sense and Sensibility and 2016's Love & Friendship.