Jane Austen: Sense and Sensibility
Debut Novel by Author of Pride and Prejudice
Austen's Sense and Sensibility is enjoying a new wave of popularity after Andrew Davies' recent BBC adaptation.
Debut Novel for Jane Austen
Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first published novel. It appeared in 1811, although Austen had begun work on it as early as 1795 in the form of an epistolary novel called Elinor and Marianne. When the novel was finally accepted for publication by Thomas Egerton, Austen bore the cost herself, an enormous risk considering the publishing process cost around a third of the entire annual income of her family. The risk paid off: the novel received favourable reviews and sold all 750 copies of its first edition by July 1813.
Elinor and Marianne Dashwood
The novel follows the fortunes of two sisters: nineteen year old Marianne Dashwood, and her sibling Marianne, two years her junior. Along with their mother and their younger sister Margaret, they find themselves thrown into hard times by the death of their father at the start of the novel: all the family money and property is left to the fourth Dashwood sibling, John, and his money-grabbing wife. Although John had promised to provide for his family, he is gradually talked out of it by his wife, and the Dashwood women are forced to move to more modest accommodation and make a fresh start.
From this point on, the novel charts the romantic fortunes of Marianne and Elinor. Marianne is passionate, romantic and impetuous, the “sensibility” of the title, and is led by her heart rather than her head when it comes to men. She has caught the eye of the highly eligible Colonel Brandon, but she prefers the young and handsome Willoughby.
Meanwhile, Elinor, the “sense” of the two sisters, must overcome romantic hurdles of her own: she had formed an attachment to Edward Ferrars, the brother of John’s wife Fanny, but now rarely sees him and must compete for his attentions.
Emma Thompson’s Film
The novel examines the position of women of limited means in the early nineteenth century: the sisters have little option open to them other than marriage. Austen is also quick to stress that both sisters have much to learn from each other: Marianne must learn restraint and a deeper concern for the welfare of those around her, and Elinor realises there is a place in life for passion and spontaneity.
For modern readers, the simple tale of the two Dashwood sisters has often been overshadowed by the more famous Austen novels: Pride and Prejudice and Emma. However, two high-profile adaptations have brought renewed interest in the novel, most famously Emma Thompson’s 1995 screen version with Thompson herself in the role of Elinor and Kate Winslet taking the part of Marianne.
The film was successful on both sides of the Atlantic, and received a number of awards, including the 1996 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay. With Andrew Davies’ small screen version attracting high viewing figures on BBC primetime this January, interest in this great novel is deservedly on the up.
Learn more about Austen’s life, and read about Andrew Davies’ BBC adaptation.
