Sense and Sensibility

About this book

After their father's death, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood must rely on relatives' goodwill and their own judgment in matters of the heart. Elinor governs her feelings with caution; Marianne wears hers openly, scorning restraint. Austen pairs their contrasting temperaments with a cast of charming, foolish, and calculating suitors, exposing how economic pressure shapes romantic choice. Set among cottages, dances, and rainy walks in Devon and London, the novel asks what prudence owes to passion, and vice versa. Less famous than Pride and Prejudice but equally rewarding, Sense and Sensibility offers Austen's signature social comedy with a gentler, more melancholy undertone.