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    Sense and Sensibility
    Sense and Sensibility
    Sense and Sensibility
    Audiobook11 hours

    Sense and Sensibility

    Written by Jane Austen

    Narrated by Wanda McCaddon

    4/5

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    About this audiobook

    Jane Austen's first published novel, Sense and Sensibility is a wonderfully entertaining tale of flirtation and folly that revolves around two starkly different sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood. While Elinor is thoughtful, considerate, and calm, her younger sister is emotional and wildly romantic. Both are looking for a husband, but neither Elinor's reason nor Marianne's passion can lead them to perfect happiness-as Marianne falls for an unscrupulous rascal and Elinor becomes attached to a man who's already engaged.

    Startling secrets, unexpected twists, and heartless betrayals interrupt the marriage games that follow. Filled with satiric wit and subtle characterizations, Sense and Sensibility teaches that true love requires a balance of reason and emotion.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateMay 12, 2008
    ISBN9781400176892
    Author

    Jane Austen

    Jane Austen was born in 1775 in rural Hampshire, the daughter of an affluent village rector who encouraged her in her artistic pursuits. In novels such as Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park and Emma she developed her subtle analysis of contemporary life through depictions of the middle-classes in small towns. Her sharp wit and incisive portraits of ordinary people have given her novels enduring popularity. She died in 1817.

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    Reviews for Sense and Sensibility

    4/5

    260 ratings218 reviews

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    • 5/5
      It took me a lot longer to read 'Sense and Sensibility' than it really should have done; I think a lot of the problem stemmed from the fact that I was very familiar with the story already, having seen Ang Lee's masterful adaptation a couple of times. The movie is very close in spirit to the book, which was rather pleasing, and a little unusual.The story itself is a masterpiece, a very cleverly worked study of the habits and affairs of people in nineteenth century England. The writing is scintillating at times, although, as with all classical literature, it requires patience on the part of the reader to become accustomed to the style and the old forms of language.However, upon finishing Austen's tale of love and marriage, I was forced to wonder if there really was nothing more to life back then for a woman but to secure herself a reasonable partner in marriage; and in many cases, it would seem that life ended at twenty. A depressing thought for someone nearing the age of 30!
    • 5/5
      What can one say? It's Austen, for crying out loud. (Every time I read this, my love for Colonel Brandon and for Elinor increases, and my hatred for Robert Ferrars and the Steele sisters increases even more.)
    • 5/5
      I watched the movie (with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet) time after time after time, until my husband wanted to kill me. Finally, I figured it was my duty as an avid reader -- and English teacher -- to settle down and read the book. That was a few years ago -- this is the third or fourth time I've read through this novel.Obviously, I love it. A bit wordy at times, like most late 1700s/early 1800s literature, and actually a touch more risque, at least for such a conventional novel, than I would have expected.
    • 5/5
      A romantic story. I love my sisters, but certainly Elinor and Marianne would be fantastic part of the family. Jane Austen shows how often our perceptions are wrong. Her prose style is wonderful. The times and fashions may change but people remain much the same. It is almost sure some of the characters will remind of someone you know. A lesson from this novel is that sometimes is better to wait a little bit for Mr. o Mrs. Right that get Mr. or Mrs. Wrong in a hurry.
    • 1/5
      This was by far my least favorite of all the Jane Austen novels. The character's experienced so much heart ache, and were only truly happy at the very end of the story. I wanted to shake Marianne and poor Elinor seemed sometimes the only one with good sense. Col Brandon made a nice hero; but I would run Willoughby out of town. Have him tar and feathered. Seriously, Marianne should have seen him coming. All this romantic nonsense of his and then...but well, I shall not reveal the end.
    • 3/5
      Surprisingly funny and witty.
    • 4/5
      Two penniless but genteel sisters, Elinor and Marianne, struggle to find suitable husbands. Marianne suffers from too much sensibility (romantic idealism) while Elinor suffers from too much sense (pragmatism, rationality). Eventually, both sisters learn to find a middle ground. Perfectly Austen.
    • 5/5
      I hadn't read much Austen at all since a much-abridged P&P when I was probably in late elementary school. After looking through a book on cover designs for Austen's works I decided I really ought to try her again, and settled on this one first. I enjoyed it immensely, and will certainly be back for me. Some excellent humor and set pieces alongside a very interesting meditation on English "rural elite" society and its strictures.
    • 4/5
      A beautiful portrait of the differences between two sisters and how they deal with disappointment in love. The characters are rich and humourous. Not my favourite Austen, but a must read.
    • 1/5
      This book was on my secondary-reading list when studying Ms Austen's "Emma" as part of a university module during my English degree.Although I respect the author's talents, her choice of story here didn't appeal to me whatsoever. Perhaps this is because the novel is aimed at a female audience. For me it was slow and depressing with little of interest.Glad it was "Emma" and not this title that was the primary text we had to study!
    • 3/5
      It was good to find out what really happened in the story, compete with more complicated relationships, different points of view for storytelling, and Willoughby's attempt at vindication at the end. But overall, I liked Emma Thompson's movie better! And thought this was much less heart-felt than Persuasion, my favorite so far.
    • 4/5
      In typical Austen style, [Sense and Sensibility] begins with numerous characters being thrown out at the reader and many names and connections need to be digested and remembered. Somehow in all of the near confusion characters named Elinor, Marianne, Colonel Brandon, Edward Ferrar, Willoughby and Mrs. Ferrar stand out.Class distinctions and hypocrisy of the 19th centery are addressed and brought to the forefront.The story seemed to drag a bit in the middle but overall a very satisfying read and I give it my hearfelt "approbation".
    • 4/5
      When Mr. Dashwood dies all his posessions and estate go to John, his son out of first marriage. His second wife Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters Elinor, Marianne and Margaret are left on a small income. They move into a small cottage at Barton, where they make many new acquaintances.For Elinor and Marianne, sisters who could not be any more different, a respectable marriage is desired to establish in life.Elinor feels attracted to Mr. Edward Ferrars, a pleasant, intelligent but reserved young man and Marianne falls in love with dashing, handsome Willoughby.When both sisters are invited to come to London in winter to stay with a friend, the engagement of Edward Ferrars as well as Willoughby to other women is revealed. Where Marianne suffers publicly, Elinor suffers in silence as nobody knows of her pain and she wants to spare her sister of more suffering which the knowledge of Elinor's feelings must cause her.I grew to like the character of Elinor very much, being the one reasonable and responsible whereas Marianne gives way to her thoughts and emotions too freely.From the introduction to Sense and Sensibility in the Penguin Classics edition:The main contrast between Marianne's and Elinor's codes of conduct lies in Marianne's romantic insistence that desires be spoken, whereas Elinor requires that they be silenced.Austen used different traits in characters but unique fates to point out the meaning and difference of sense and sensibility.Due to Marianne's silence Elinor is pledged to think she experiences everyting the first time. She falls in love first, she discovers that Willoughby is already engaged, and she struggles to gain control of her feelings when they are hurt. Only Elinor and the reader knows that Marianne's experiences are a repititon of Elinor's.That Elinor is the first to become happy is no secret though, and as Marianne gets happy too some time later, everything appears in the right order again.I enjoyed reading another Austen (besides P&P) but did not like it enough for five stars. Four stars it is then.
    • 4/5
      Compare and contrast Willoughby here with Wickham in Pride and Prejudice. The roles of various characters seem to be rather more widely allotted here. I find this a richer work.
    • 3/5
      I don't remember this too well, but my whole high school went to see the movie version when it came out because the English department had gotten to go to England and meet the director and cast the previous summer.
    • 2/5
      Review of the Audible Audio edition narrated by Rosamund PikeI'm not the audience for Jane Austen, but as this was offered in an Audible Daily Deal it was an easy pick to cross off my 1001 Books list and to try to hear what all the fuss is about.This isn't an ideal book for long travel commutes as I found my mind wandering constantly and it would only snap back to attention when Pike affected an especially entertaining upper-class voice for Mrs. Jennings or during the drama of the confrontations between Elinor and Willoughby. The scoundrel Willoughby was probably the only character of any dramatic interest.One main distraction was my constantly thinking about how these people knew each other's incomes on an annual basis? It seemed like a regular refrain throughout but the source of the information is never discussed. It is almost as if there was some sort of public domain registry for this sort of information. I began to wonder if there is any sort of annotated Jane Austen that explains these sorts of cultural nuances that will become even more inexplicable as the years pass.These are only reactions based on listening to an audio version under less than ideal circumstances. I should still try to give it a read in hardcopy format.
    • 4/5
      I like the added levels of detail in this book as opposed to the movies (which is expected, of course). The characters have so much depth. So far, this and Pride and Prejudice are my two favorite Austen books. I will probably not read another one soon; I need a break from that style of writing.
    • 5/5
      Today (May 2, 1965) I have just finished this book an I have much the same feeling of enjoyment I rememer so distinctly feeling in 1954--to my then surprise--after reading Pride and Prejudice. I found Sense and sensibility so deft, so well-done, so believeable, that my admiration is extreme. Of what moment? True, but nevertheless the craft of the author: that she can create such interest with such non-melodramatic effort seems fantastic. Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are sisters, and the book is merely an account of their progress to matrimony. Yet how absorbing it all seems. And the delicious humor! E.g.: "Many were the tears shed by them in their last adieux to a place so much beloved. 'Dear, dear Norland!" said Marianne, as she wandered alone before the house, on the last evening of their being there; 'when shall I cease to regret you? when learn to feel at home elsewhwere? O happy house! could you know what I suffer in now viewing you from this spot, from whence perhaps I may view you no more! and you, ye well-known trees! but you will continue the same. No leaf will decay because we are removed, nor any branch become motionless although we can observe you no longer! No; you will continue the same..."'
    • 5/5
      I found myself disliking Marianne. She was a bit of a selfish brat.
    • 3/5
      It was good to find out what really happened in the story, compete with more complicated relationships, different points of view for storytelling, and Willoughby's attempt at vindication at the end. But overall, I liked Emma Thompson's movie better! And thought this was much less heart-felt than Persuasion, my favorite so far.
    • 4/5
      This is my first Jane Austen book outside of Pride and Prejudice, and I must say I (for the most part) enjoyed it a great bit. I did feel that it was weaker than Pride and Prejudice, and I did not like the ending.I really and truly thought things were going to end up differently, so the ending rather annoyed me. But I did adore the characters of Elinor and also Colonel Brandon. All in all, a fun read, and I now must progress onward toward her many other novels.
    • 5/5
      Re-reading this book just solidified my opinion that it is the best of the Jane Austen novels. I know everyone has their hearts set on Pride and Prejudice and Mr. Darcy, but I believe that her first novel is raw and real and much more relatable. It truly remains as fresh a cautionary tale today as it ever was. The Dashwood sisters learn that the path to love isn't always straight and narrow and sometimes you're heart has to be broken for you to appreciate how whole a heart can be. Filled with memorable characters, witty dialogue, and unforgettable romance, this is a book readers won't soon forget. I really enjoyed discussing the book with my library Jane Austen Book and Film Club, we talked about how societal obligations have changed but the heart has remained the same and then we watched the Masterpiece Theater version. Overall, a must read. And if you haven't watch the 1995 movie version. It's amazing and you won't regret it.
    • 5/5
      This is always one of my favorite book.
    • 2/5
      Dreadfully, painfully dull - Penguin has released a book called 'Twitterature: The World's Greatest Books Retold Through Twitter', which includes 'Sense and Sensibility' and is able to finally makes sense and enjoyment of what is otherwise a heap of pointless verbiage. I recommend that version, unless you enjoy books where nothing happens, with characters whose insipidity is likely to have delayed the women's movement by at least 20 years.
    • 4/5
      Recently I read Austen's 'juvenalia', and when I started reading this book, I could see a lot of similarities. The beginning of S&S has a tone of satire. The reader can tell Jane is a young writer, mocking many of society's views which were common at the time.However, as the story progresses, I began to see Jane getting more serious about her subject and caring about her characters. That was when I began to love this book. And it just got better and better toward the end.On a personal note, I found some similarities to my own life in this book. When I was young and in love for the first time, I acted a bit like Marianne, wearing my heart on my sleeve. I think many of us probably did. I loved this book and gave it 4 stars - but you can see how I might be a biased reader.Some of Austen's other books are definitely a little better, but this is also a good book. It's amazing to me that hundreds of years can pass, and a modern reader like me can still identify with these characters.
    • 5/5
      Love this book! The quartet of Pride and Prejudice, Sense and Sensibility, Emma, and Persuasion are up there with my all-time favourite books of any age or genre. And the movie was good too, although I always find Emma Thompson in a young romantic role quite jarring - she always looks too old for the part (here a 36 year old playing a 19 year old).
    • 4/5
      While she is a little wordy and nothing actually "happens" in the story, I found myself very much concerned about the characters. Marianne was my favorite, simply for the comedy of her overreactions. Elinor, always knowing how to act and what to say, no matter the situation or her the feelings it involved for her, is quite the role model. Too bad the little sister was a throw away character. The laughs I got at the expense of John & Fanny Dashwood and Mrs. Jennings and Mrs. Palmer say something for Austen. That she captures people like that in book form over 200 years ago and that those types of people continue to exist in real life means she really captured something of the true nature of people.
    • 4/5
      Sense and Sensibility is Jane Austen's "debut" (she may have had a book before this one, I don't know and I'm too lazy to look at her wiki page). I should say that the book's strong points are considerable and include Austen's wit in full force, super polite dialogue, and supercharacters the Palmers. That being said, there are some flaws in terms of plotting and "hazy" passages. But really, this book got only four stars instead of five because to me it should've been re-centered and renamed The Adventures of Mr. and Mrs. Palmer. The sad fact that they are simply not featured enough in this book is enough to warrant a half star being taken off (the other half is for aforementioned flaws). It's a book meant to charm, but not on the level of Pride and Prejudice (although it's an excellent precursor to that work).
    • 4/5
      Wonderful sisters, another terrific heroine, and the least engaging of all Austen's heroes. This was my last full-length Austen novel to complete, and I finished it convinced that Austen never wrote a bad book. I was prepared not to love this one, having seen the movie, but Elinor won me over, although I still cannot fathom for the life of me what she finds attractive about Edward Ferrars! I listened to the audiobook (Kindle WhisperSync) and the narrator was terrific.
    • 5/5
      For some reason, this seems to be the Austen novel I come back to least often: I can't quite think why, because there's a lot of great stuff in it. There are some of Austen's funniest speeches and letters; there's a rather subversive look at Georgian courtship customs and the double standard; there's a romantic plot that gently mocks the conventions of romantic plots. Possibly there's just too much of everything? Certainly, there seem to be an awful lot of comic characters, and some of them don't get very much to do. Still, minor quibbles or not, it's a book I read with great pleasure every few years. Austen is, after all, Austen.