Sense and Sensibility (1811) is Jane Austen's first published novel. After their father's death, the sisters Elinor and Marianne Dashwood face poverty and heartbreak: Elinor with quiet self-control, Marianne with open passion, until each learns something from the other.
The story
Left with little money by their half-brother, Mrs Dashwood and her three daughters move to a cottage in Devon. Elinor loves the shy Edward Ferrars, who turns out to be secretly engaged to the scheming Lucy Steele.
Marianne falls for the dashing Willoughby, who abandons her for a rich heiress. After a dangerous illness, she comes to value the steady Colonel Brandon, and Edward, freed at last, marries Elinor.
Sense against sensibility
The title sets prudence and reason against the cult of feeling fashionable in the late eighteenth century. Austen mocks Marianne's romantic excesses but also shows the cost of Elinor's silence.
The novel is also a sharp picture of money and inheritance, which decide marriages and fortunes.
Publication
Austen first wrote the story in letters, as Elinor and Marianne, in the 1790s. Revised, it was published in 1811 by Thomas Egerton, at her own risk, signed simply 'By a Lady'.
It made her a profit of about £140. Ang Lee's 1995 film, written by Emma Thompson, won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay.
Anecdotes
By a Lady
None of Austen's novels bore her name during her lifetime; the first was signed 'By a Lady', the next ones 'By the Author of Sense and Sensibility'.
Austen at the Golden Globes
Emma Thompson, accepting her Golden Globe for the screenplay in 1996, read an imaginary diary entry in which Jane Austen described the ceremony.
Frequently asked questions
Who are the two heroines?
Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, two sisters of very different temperaments.
How was the novel signed?
'By a Lady'.
Who does Marianne finally marry?
Colonel Brandon.