Sense and Sensibility (Collector's Library) - Hardcover

Austen, Jane

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1904633021 ISBN 13: 9781904633020

Publisher: Collectors Library, 2003

Synopsis

Sense and Sensibility, the first of Jane Austen's major novels, examines the romantic lives of two very different sisters--one restrained and practical, the other wildly passionate and romantic--forced to balance their emotional needs against the harsh financial realities of the world. After their father's death leaves them impoverished, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood must struggle to win both the happiness and security they deserve. Austen trains her customary sharp eye on the hypocrisy of the age, providing a striking critique of early nineteenth-century society. The world's greatest works of literature are now available in these beautiful keepsake volumes. Bound in real cloth, and featuring gilt edges and ribbon markers, these beautifully produced books are a wonderful way to build a handsome library of classic literature. These are the essential novels that belong in every home. They'll transport readers to imaginary worlds and provide excitement, entertainment, and enlightenment for years to come. All of these novels feature attractive illustrations and have an unequalled period feel that will grace the library, the bedside table or bureau.

About this title

Review:

Though not the first novel she wrote, Sense and Sensibility was the first Jane Austen published. Though she initially called it Elinor and Marianne, Austen jettisoned both the title and the epistolary mode in which it was originally written, but kept the essential theme: the necessity of finding a workable middle ground between passion and reason. The story revolves around the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne. Whereas the former is a sensible, rational creature, her younger sister is wildly romantic--a characteristic that offers Austen plenty of scope for both satire and compassion. Commenting on Edward Ferrars, a potential suitor for Elinor's hand, Marianne admits that while she "loves him tenderly," she finds him disappointing as a possible lover for her sister:

Oh! Mama, how spiritless, how tame was Edward's manner in reading to us last night! I felt for my sister most severely. Yet she bore it with so much composure, she seemed scarcely to notice it. I could hardly keep my seat. To hear those beautiful lines which have frequently almost driven me wild, pronounced with such impenetrable calmness, such dreadful indifference!

Soon however, Marianne meets a man who measures up to her ideal: Mr. Willoughby, a new neighbor. So swept away by passion is Marianne that her behavior begins to border on the scandalous. Then Willoughby abandons her; meanwhile, Elinor's growing affection for Edward suffers a check when he admits he is secretly engaged to a childhood sweetheart. How each of the sisters reacts to their romantic misfortunes, and the lessons they draw before coming finally to the requisite happy ending forms the heart of the novel. Though Marianne's disregard for social conventions and willingness to consider the world well-lost for love may appeal to modern readers, it is Elinor whom Austen herself most evidently admired; a truly happy marriage, she shows us, exists only where sense and sensibility meet and mix in proper measure. --Alix Wilber

Book Description:

Jane Austen's first published novel introduced many of the themes which would dominate Austen's future work. Austen writes about everyday events of her own time with a subtlety and sensitivity unprecedented in the English novel. This edition, first published in 2006, follows the second edition of 1813, which corrects errors of the first edition.

About this edition

• Publisher: Collectors Library
• Publication date: 2003
• ISBN 10: 1904633021
• ISBN 13: 9781904633020
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 462