Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen
List: $17.50 | Sale: $12.25
Club: $8.75

Sense and Sensibility

Author: Jane Austen

Narrator: Julie Christie

Abridged: 5 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Penguin Audio

Published: 01/30/2003


Synopsis

Listen to audio presented by Literary Affairs: Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility.View our feature on Jane Austen.

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love—and its threatened loss—the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.

About The Author

Though the domain of Jane Austen’s novels was as circumscribed as her life, her caustic wit and keen observation made her the equal of the greatest novelists in any language. Born the seventh child of the rector of Steventon, Hampshire, on December 16, 1775, she was educated mainly at home. At an early age she began writing sketches and satires of popular novels for her family’s entertainment. As a clergyman’s daughter from a well-connected family, she had ample opportunity to study the habits of the middle class, the gentry, and the aristocracy. At 21, she began a novel called “The First Impressions,” an early version of Pride and Prejudice. In 1801, on her father’s retirement, the family moved to the fashionable resort of Bath. Two years later she sold the first version of Northanger Abby to a London publisher, but the first of her novels to appear in print was Sense and Sensibility, published at her own expense in 1811. It was followed by Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1815).After her father died in 1805, the family first moved to Southampton then to Chawton Cottage in Hampshire. Despite this relative retirement, Jane Austen was still in touch with a wider world, mainly through her brothers; one had become a very rich country gentleman, another a London banker, and two were naval officers. Though her many novels were published anonymously, she had many early and devoted readers, among them the Prince Regent and Sir Walter Scott. In 1816, in declining health, Austen wrote Persuasion and revised Northanger Abby. Her last work, Sandition, was left unfinished at her death on July 18, 1817. She was buried in Winchester Cathedral. Austen’s identity as an author was announced to the world posthumously by her brother Henry, who supervised the publication of Northanger Abby and Persuasion in 1818.Julie Christie was born in 1940, in India, and moved to England at a young age. After attending the Central School of Speech and Drama, she began to act in British television, and later, films. She moved to Los Angeles in 1967 and around the same time began to star in Hollywood movies. She is best known for her roles in in Doctor Zhivago (1965), Petulia (1968), Heaven Can Wait (1978), and Hamlet (1996). Later appearances include her Academy Award–nominated turn in Away from Her (2007), and as Madame Rosmerta in the Harry Potter films.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Sean Barrs on April 11, 2020

Money. It's all about the money. I mean, why else would you marry someone? In Sense and Sensibility there are three major factors beyond the usual considerations of appearance, personality and character conduct when looking for a marriage in 19th century England. Indeed, what the Dashwood sisters loo......more

Goodreads review by Reading_ on May 12, 2025

*life goals: to be an Eleanor *reality: being a Marianne ⬇️ *Classic example of men being gold diggers: John Willdoughy Not all gold diggers are women *Classic character reference of mean girls and vanity: Lucy Steele *Most underrated character reference in history: Colonel Brandon *Most unsettling romance......more

Goodreads review by Emily on November 01, 2022

While I enjoyed the relationship between the sisters, I didn't care for the romances. Colonel Brandon is <3 but probably not the best match for (view spoiler)[Marianne. I was kinda shipping him with Elinor tbh. There was also no chemistry between Elinor and Edward in the book, only in the tv show. (hide spoiler)] Trying to read al......more

Goodreads review by Ruby on January 29, 2021

I'm not a fan of Jane Austen. I've given her many chances, and do really want to like her work, but am always let down -- until now, that is! I enjoyed Sense and Sensibility so much more than I was expecting to! I still wouldn't rank it on the same level as the Bronte sisters, but the story is sardo......more

Goodreads review by Barry on January 03, 2015

Sense and Sensibility is dense with inactivity.......more


Quotes

"As nearly flawless as any fiction could be."
—Eudora Welty