Sense and Sensibility

By Jane Austen

Part of the Oxford World's Classics series

Two sisters navigate love and society's constraints, facing fortune-hunters and heartbreak.

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327 pages

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Bookroo's summary

Elinor and Marianne Dashwood face a world where love is overshadowed by wealth and status. Sensible Elinor struggles against fortune-hunters, while passionate Marianne risks heartbreak from deceitful suitors. As they journey through love and loss, the sisters must confront society's rigid expectations. Will they find happiness in a world ruled by self-interest, or will their dreams be dashed by the very society they must navigate? Discover the Dashwood sisters' poignant tale of resilience and hope in a world that demands conformity.

From the publisher

In her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, Jane Austen presents us with the subtle portraits of two contrasting but equally compelling heroines. For sensible Elinor Dashwood and her impetuous younger sister Marianne the prospect of marrying the men they love appears remote. In a world ruled by money and self-interest, the Dashwood sisters have neither fortune nor connections. Concerned for others and for social proprieties, Elinor is ill-equipped to compete with self-centered fortune-hunters like Lucy Steele, while Marianne’s unswerving belief in the truth of her own feelings makes her more dangerously susceptible to the designs of unscrupulous men. Through her heroines’ parallel experiences of love, loss, and hope, Jane Austen offers a powerful analysis of the ways in which women’s lives were shaped by the claustrophobic society in which they had to survive. This revised edition contains new notes, appendices, chronology, and bibliography.

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