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    Sense and Sensibility
    Sense and Sensibility
    Sense and Sensibility
    Audiobook11 hours

    Sense and Sensibility

    Written by Jane Austen

    Narrated by Flo Gibson

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    About this audiobook

    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.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherRecorded Books, Inc.
    Release dateSep 11, 2009
    ISBN9781436169608
    Author

    Jane Austen

    Jane Austen nació en 1775 en Steventon (Hampshire), séptima de los ocho hijos del rector de la parroquia. Educada principalmente por su padre, empezó a escribir de muy joven, para recreo de la familia, y a los veintitrés años envió a los editores el manuscrito de La abadía de Northanger, que fue rechazado. Trece años después, en 1811, conseguiría publicar Juicio y sentimiento, a la que pronto seguirían Orgullo y prejuicio (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) y Emma (1816), que obtuvieron un gran éxito. Después de su muerte, acaecida prematuramente en 1817, y que le impidió concluir su novela SanditonLa abadía de Northanger, Persuasión (1818). Satírica, antirromántica, profunda y tan primorosa como mordaz, la obra de Jane Austen nace toda ella de una inquieta observación de la vida doméstica y de una estética necesidad de orden moral. «La Sabidu-ría –escribió una vez- es mejor que el Ingenio, y a la larga tendrá sin duda la risa de su parte.»

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    Reviews for Sense and Sensibility

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    • 4/5
      I enjoyed this book as much as I alawys enjoy Austen. A perfect ending as usual.
    • 3/5
      I realized it was about time to read something by Jane Austen. Having seen the movie with Emma Thompson and having friends who were great fans, I chose Sense and Sensibility. I both listened to and read this novel.Sense and Sensibility was written by Jane Austen and published in 1811. Austen lived in Regency Period England, was one of eight children of an Anglican rector. Publication was costly for Austen and she published anonymously. Only her family knew she was aware of the fact that she penned these works. On a positive note, Austen was able to maintain privacy throughout her life. As an observer of her environment, Austen produced many literary works, including Sense and Sensibility, where her quick wit and eye for details creates a great document of society and times of Austen's day.Sense and Sensibility quickly focuses on the Dashwood family. Patriarch Henry Dashwood dies and leaves all his money to his son and first marriage child, John Dashwood. Henry does not much provide for his second wife and his three daughters due to the dictates of the time. Although Henry prevails upon John to take care of his wife and daughters Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret, are homeless and have meager income. John's wife talks John out of giving his stepmother and half sisters more and the Dashwood females are invited to live with distant cousins - the Middletons of Barton Park. Sensible Elinor is saddened by this departure since she and her sister-in-law's brother, Edward Ferrars, have become quick friends. Nonetheless, Elinor and emotional, romantic Marianne meet many new people including retired officer Colonel Brandon and the dashing John Willoughby. Willoughby rescues Marianne during a rain storm in which she twisted her ankle. Marianne and Willoughby seem the ideal match until Willoughby has some business to attend to in London. Now, the Dashwoods meet the Steele sisters with whom they have a common relative in Lady Middleton. Lucy Steele turns out to be secretly engaged to Edward Ferriers of all people. Are the Dashwoods doomed or is there true light at the end of the tunnel for them?While I found the style and relationships of the characters and times to be more stiff and formal than I prefer, I found Sense and Sensibility to be a rewarding read. The form is classic and the problems are not just products of Austen's day. We see problems like this today. I particularly enjoyed Elinor's wit and candor. Austen seemed to have written what she knew and it is commendable.Obviously, I see the title as alternate names for Elinor (Sense) and Marianne (Sensibility). There is more to this, though. Elinor can be likened to the Age of Reason while Marianne is the figurehead for the ensuing Romantic Era. However, Austen shows the reader that the Age of Reason and the Romantic Era love each other and go hand in hand. They live by one another and have each other's back. These Ages are sisters. Ultimately, you cannot appreciate Romanticism without Rationalism and vice versa.
    • 2/5
      So-so. Ashamed to admit that I couldn't finish a re-read of the book, and actually preferred the BBC series (which had much of the dialogue, but was easier to stick with) - the characters are mere sketches, the dialogue drawn out in places, and I can't imagine a 'what happened next' for one of the sisters in particular - not exactly a suitably romantic or dramatic conclusion for either Elinor or Marianne. A rather pedestrian story, presumably read by others for the 'label' of Jane Austen.
    • 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.
    • 4/5
      I think two things about this novel have made it second to only "Pride and Prejudice" in the general appreciation of Jane Austen's work. One, that the main characters are two loving sisters with diverse, relateable personalities, and two, that these young women are struggling against the world: kicked out of their home, with poor marriage prospects, and vulnerable. The differences between sisters Elinor and Marianne tempers each other's reactions to this major change: Serious Elinor strives to make herself and her family comfortable and live within budget in their new home, but lest she becomes too somber, there's dreamy Marianne, whose sentimental side reveals the hurt the Dashwood family feels in their change of situation.For all their poor marriageability, the sisters do not wait long for romantic attachments. Elinor falls for her sister-in-law's brother, Edward Ferrars, while Marianne is swept away by poetry-loving neighbor Willoughby, while pined after by the more appropriate, but older, Colonel Brandon. The novel progresses to show how each sister is deceived by her crush, and the different ways they bear it. Elinor hides her pain and remains stoic on the outside, even bearing the imposed friendship of Edward's secret betrothed, a waspish Lucy Steele. Marianne, however, wears her heartbreak on her sleeve and endangers her life for it. Eventaully, the two sisters learn to appreciate each other more, and learn that they are not so different after all.Like most Austen novels, the story is sprinkled with wit, skewering the upper classes and their hypocrisy. In this novel, ambitious people are unlikeable: from scheming Lucy to the younger Mrs. Dashwood, who convinces her husband to dishonor his father's dying wishes and cheat his stepmother and sisters out of their inheritance, to Mrs. Ferrars, who uses her family's wealth to manipulate her sons' marriage plans and show favor upon them. The likeable characters are the ones content with their lives and can appreciate their own worth without putting down others in the process. Sir John Middleton and Mrs. Jennings are an example of this lot; though wealthy, they inject kindness and humor into the less-fortunate Dashwoods' lives.
    • 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.
    • 5/5
      Title Sense and Sensibility Insight EditionAuthor Jane Austen Publisher Bethany HouseISBN 978-0-7642-0740-2$14.99 In Sense and Sensibility we meet the Dashwood family, three charming girls and their widowed mother, who are forced to move from their beloved home after the death of their father. Promising his father that he would provided for the needs of his stepmother and sisters, John Dashwood’s wife Fanny, eager to get her hands on the family fortune, convinces her husband that the sum was too great and it should be extremely lowered. With little money the family is forced to move to a cottage offered by relatives. We then gain a glimpse into the lives of the two eldest sisters, Elinor, who happens to be practical and the very charming Marianne, who lives for the moment. Different as day and night each sister experiences their own version of love. Elinor with the somewhat stuffy Edward Ferrars, brother to the intolerable Mrs. Fanny Dashwood, and Marianne with the enchanting Willoughby who has the ability to charm a snake. All the while the reasonable but slightly older, Colonel Brandon comes calling for the unwilling Marianne. Although the suitors of the Dashwood girls are both hiding enormous secrets, once discovered these secrets could break both of the girls hearts. In the end which will win Sense or Sensibility?Sense and Sensibility was the first novel of Jane Austen’s to be published, now Bethany House has published the insight edition. The perfect edition to add or start your Austen collection. Complete with notes pertaining to everything from historical/cultural events, definitions during Jane’s era, to facts and tidbits about Jane’s life. Also included is comments featuring facts pertaining to the movies and pop culture surround the novel. Readers will be pleased to know that the story of Sense and Sensibility has not been altered from the one the Jane Austen wrote. The Insight edition is exactly what it claims, an insight in the world of Sense and Sensibility and the world in which Jane Austen lived. Once again I will say that this is the perfect edition to either start or add to your Jane Austen collection. This book was provided for review thanks to Bethany House
    • 4/5
      A classic Austen, but not my favorite. This is again, a great love story with great characters, however, it doesn't have as much tension as P&P so it's a little lacklustre. It's still a must-read, must-own sort of book.
    • 3/5
      Surprisingly funny and witty.
    • 3/5
      I did not appreciate this book as much as Pride and Prejudice, by the same author. I kept expecting someone of Mr. Darcy's calibre to show up!
    • 4/5
      Perhaps because I was very much impressed by the romance of Lizzie Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy in Pride and Prejudice, I read through the first part of Sense and Sensibility with a bit of a disappointment, as I felt this book didn't have as forceful emotion and love and wittiness as Pride and Prejudice. I felt Sense and Sensibility a lot more sedate. This book’s heroine Elinor is the master of calmness and restrain, more like Jane Bennet, Lizzie’s older sister in Pride and Prejudice. She has not the wittiness and spirit of Lizzie. Elinor’s beau Edward has the reserve of Mr Darcy, but not his dashing look or richness. However, a proof to Jane Austen's masterful writing, even before reading half of the book I was as hooked, as spellbound, as when I read Pride and Prejudice. Reading this book I was again drowned in Jane’s world; and it was very difficult to get out of it.This time it’s the love stories of the Miss Dashwoods, Elinor and Marianne. The heroes are Edwards Ferrars and Colonel Brandon. The black sheep this time is Willoughby (who resembles Wickham from Pride and Prejudice).Jane successfully gives a faithful and acute portray of the 18th century England, giving us a detailed look at the view of the society at that time about man and woman relationship, about family, about money and virtue. As in Pride and Prejudice (which was actually published two years after this book), in Sense and Sensibility it is very clear how dependent women are financially on their families or husbands. Not a situation to be envied on. It is very interesting as well to see how view has change over the time from then to now. The Dashwood sisters seem to forgive Willoughby’s conducts toward Marianne more easily after it was known that he left her for money. They hated him more when they thought that he was only pretending to fall in love with Marianne. I would’ve hated him no less if a guy is to leave me for financial reason! Maybe in those days people have resigned to the fact that fortune often obstructs love. Maybe this is the reason that Willoughby’s long defence of his attitude to Elinor is not depicted in the modern film adaptation (1995, starring Emma Thompson, Kate Winslet, Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman). It is interesting to see Jane’s descriptions of mothers. It doesn’t seem that she has a very good opinion on them. In Pride and Prejudice Mrs Bennet is borderline annoying in her stupidity. In this book Mrs Dashwood is kind and smart enough, but still too romantic to be wise. Perhaps Jane’s books including this one is always well liked because it appeals to our romantic sides, and also in her books the good will always be rewarded and the bad punished. Goodness of heart, wisdom and sense prevail.
    • 5/5
      Once I overcame my false ideas about what Jane Austen wrote -- that she was some obscure author whosed by the sweater-set-and-pearls English majors at Ivy league women's colleges -- I fell all over myself to catch up. This was my second excursion, following up Pride & Prejudice. (It helped that the Emma Thompson movie came out about the same time).

      This story of two sisters with opposing views on love and life seems ubiquitous to me now, although there are likely some few people ignorant of the trials of Marianne and Elinor, so I won't go into the details of the plot. However, it is safe enough, I think, to talk about the ideas that roam under the skin of the story, the ideas Austen wanted to present to the reader -- that one's personal experience is not the be-all and end-all of one's life, that we live in an interconnected world with rules and expectations we defy at our own risk, that we need not be dead leaves blown by the winds of passion. In the guise of a domestic romance, Austen details these ideas because she saw them affecting the lives of people she knew and she could imagine beyond her own circle.

      Of course, even without all that rather weighty philosophy and moralizing, we have a romantic tale with highs and lows, long periods of suspense and uncertainty, and rather well drawn characters and situations. Austen's ability to create comic scenes and use wry ironic humor to underline her points makes the book a lot more fun than the now unfamiliar and complicated language of the time might make apparent to modern eyes.

      If you are not familiar with the period of the novel, or if the language and culture seem obscure to you, I very much recommend reading [The Annotated Sense and Sensibility].
    • 4/5
      I used to like this, but the last time I reread it, it seemed to me that Austen let the two best characters marry the wrong people, when they should have married each other.
    • 5/5
      Sense and Sensibility illustrates well the old saying "appearances can be deceiving." Sensible Elinor appears to feel things less deeply than passionate Marianne, who pursues what she admires and avoids what she does not with equal zeal. However, in allowing her feelings to govern her behavior, Marianne is insensitive to the feelings of others, while Elinor, by doing what is expected of her in social situations, suffers all the more. Not only does Elinor do the right thing even when it is difficult and painful, she does it for the right reasons. I'm glad for Elinor's sake that she ends up with the man she loves. I can't help thinking, though, that she deserves a better man than Edward, and I find myself agreeing with many of her friends and relations that Colonel Brandon would have been a good match for her.
    • 3/5
      Given what I'm sure is below, my review's wholly unnecessary, although I'd like to complain about the precipitous marriage of Lucy Steele to Robert Ferrars. If she was going to go this way with the central conflict of the second half of the book, Austen could have resolved it even more suddenly: why not knock Lucy down with a carriage? Why not drown her in the Thames? Why not let loose a localized horde of zombies?

      I'll say this to complainers about Mr Edward Ferrars: his woodenness is simply Elinor's, seen from the outside. Had we watched the novel from within Marianne's head, Edward and Elinor would have been indistinguishable.
    • 5/5
      Of the three Jane Austen books I've read, I liked this one best -- I'm sure Pride and Prejudice would hold that title, but I haven't attempted it since I was fifteen or sixteen, and think I need to go back to it now that I've gained a bit of confidence with Austen.I always have trouble connecting emotionally with Austen -- some combination of her habit of telling not showing in regards to the growth of strong emotion and the reservedness of most of her heroines -- but I love movies based on her books, so there has to be something there, right? The last Austen book I went through was Emma, my enjoyment of which was somewhat marred by my impatience with its heroine, but here I was able to fully appreciate Austen's sly humor. Mr and Mrs Palmer slayed me. Elinor was likeable, if quiet, and Marianne was infinitely sympathetic, though obviously very silly.My main quibble was that I found Marianne's ending very... rushed, and not thoroughly convincing. I like Col. Brandon better than Willoughby (whom I thought brought out her worst traits) from the start, but my liking him does not a romance build. Still, I really enjoyed this book.
    • 3/5
      An entertaining book. The story follows the love-lives of two young ladies in Victorian England. While I won't say it was a totally predictable story, it seemed inevitable that both sisters would ultimately make the "good marriage" that the book seemed destined to conclude with. Nevertheless, it was very well written and for the most part enjoyable.
    • 5/5
      Jane Austen can make me gasp out loud. As much as I read I don't gasp out loud very often while reading, but Jane Austen can make me do it with just a single word.Willoughby.With Jane Austen it's not what is said but what is not said that matters. Hers is the art of reference, of the knowing glance. The surface is overwhelmed by what is going on beneath. The most well respected writer of romance in English Austen never once depicted a single kiss, she didn't have to. Her art has nothing to do with kissing; her art is about getting the kiss. No kiss could ever hope to live up to the expectation. The thrill comes not from the actual kiss, but from finally knowing there's going to be one.Can you tell I'm a bit of a Janeite?Jane Austin's first novel Sense and Sensibility (1811) is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, young women who have lost their income. After the death of their father they are forced to leave their family estate and settle in a small cottage owned by a friendly relation. There they meet Mrs. Jennings, a widow of some fortune, who takes them under her wing and makes finding them suitable husbands her special project. Each sister falls in love with a man who is already pledged to another. Elinor falls for a genuinely good man who is not at all romantic while Marianne falls for a questionable man who is very romantic. Sense and Sensibility. This is a Jane Austen novel so there is little question about how it will all end, but it's the journey that matters, not the destination. The journey is wonderful.It's been a few years since I read a Jane Austen novel so I'd forgotten how funny she is. In the opening chapters Elinor and Marianne's half brother has a long discussion with his wife about what to do for the pair. How much of an income should he give them. His wife answers each of his generous suggestions with a detailed explanation of why it's too much, how it would only hurt them to have such a high income or such a quality home eventually convincing him to leave them nothing but the small income their mother can provide. Mrs. Jennings, the well-meaning but meddlesome widow, is certainly a stock character, but she is so funny that this reader didn't care. I just wanted more of her. 19th century novels are big enough that they can accomodate a character or two whose sole purpose is to provide laughter. The first of the four novels published in her lifetime, Sense and Sensibility is often listed as lesser Austen. This may be true, but that's a bit like comparing a 24 carat diamond with a 28 carat one, isn't it. It's still a diamond.
    • 4/5
      Jane Austen by far is one classic author that modern readers can still enjoy. This book was perhaps not her best, but still an enjoyable read. You do want o jump in the book and ridicule a few of the characters, but otherwise it is fun to be transported back to past days.If you haven't read Jane I suggest you read Pride and Prejudice, but this book is a fun read also.
    • 4/5
      Sense and Sensibility was not my favourite Jane Austen novel, but nevertheless it was still a worthwhile read. Some of the characters did not appeal to me in the least until the end of the novel. By the end of the novel it picked up and i was really enjoying it.
    • 5/5
      Elinor and Marion, two very different sisters need the same thing. A husband. The way they love and support each other along with their mother and other young sister in their worsened circumstances is so beautiful. I love this story!
    • 4/5
      As can always be expected from Jane Austen novels, Sense and Sensibility is filled with many memorable multi-dimensional characters. Readers' hearts will go out to the two Dashwood sisters, reasonable Elinor and passionate Marianne; laughs will be shared with the boisterous Mrs. Jennings; and sneers will be passed to the pages about the cad Willoughby. As one of Jane Austen's earliest works, Sense and Sensibility lacks the polish and ease of reading some of her other books (Pride and Prejudice, for example). However, her storytelling ability, fresh dialogue and wonderful characters reamain to leave this book a true classic, beloved by generation after generation.
    • 4/5
      As the introduction helpfully points out - very few people put S & S at the top of their list of the best Austen novels! (from the 1902 edition available from Project Gutenberg). But this is still a great book. Her characters are so well imagined, finely drawn and believable. While they play out their personalities in a now strange environment, one can readily 'see' people with these same characteristics in ANY environment. Read June 2010 in e-book format.
    • 5/5
      For those who don’t know, Sense and Sensibility is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne. The main focus is on Elinor, the older one. She’s rational, composed, intelligent and feels responsible for everything/one. Marianne seems to be her exact opposite – passionate, outspoken, spontaneous. Both fall in love, Elinor with Edward Ferrars and Marianne with John Willoughby. Of course, that isn’t the end of the story yet.Sense and Sensibility is my favourite Austen book - it's just amazing. Totally love it.
    • 3/5
      Very likable characters, but I had a hard time getting into the story. This is the first Jane Austin book that I've read. I look forward to reading some of her other books.
    • 4/5
      I thought I knew this book before I read it. I thought it was about two sisters - one practical and reserved, the other dramatic and passionate - trying to find husbands in a society riddled with gossip and insincerity. The story is really about how the sisters, who face strikingly similar obstacles, deal with their struggles in entirely different ways. It changes their relationship, how they see one another, and how they grow to interpret friendship and sincerity. The story lacked a dramatic flair I enjoyed in other of Austen's work, and at times it felt tedious. I enjoyed it, and I appreciate that it was so much more than I was expecting.
    • 3/5
      Sisters Elinor Dashwood, the elder and reasonable one, and Marianne Dashwood, the younger and impetuous one, are at the heart of this romantic novel. Their father has passed away, leaving the bulk of his fortune to his son John from a previous marriage, entrusting him with the care of his sisters and step-mother. But John's wife Fanny, a selfish and wonderfully disagreeable woman, soon convinces him that the best he can do is to give them nothing at all and store away the bulk of his inheritance for their young son's future prosperity. Money plays a large part in this novel, as does the importance of marrying into it, and the sisters, with their limited fortune must consider marrying well. While taking a walk one day, Marianne trips and falls to be immediately rescued by the dashing young Willoughby, who conveniently happens to be walking by at that moment. With all the ardour of her immaturity and spirit, and with Willoughby's constant attention, Marianne falls hopelessly in love and it is quickly assumed that the young couple are engaged to be married, but Marianne is soon bitterly disappointed by the young playboy and much drama ensues. Meanwhile, Elinor discretely pines after her Edward only to discover one day that he is secretly engaged, but she suffers in silence as Marianne stomps around pouting and crying bitter tears and falls dangerously ill from a broken heart. Many complications ensue. Then, many sudden convenient plot twists occur, and both ladies find love and eternal wedded bliss and material comfort after all. The End. This was my fist Jane Austen novel and I was at first immediately charmed by her irony and the witty dialogue, in particular when describing the unpleasant Fanny Dashwood and other secondary characters, such as Edward's fiancée Lucy Steele. But the drama! The bitter disappointments! The dashed hopes which are magically restored! It was too much like a soap opera for me and I couldn't help but groan and wish for zombies to come in and bite people's heads off, even though zombies really aren't my thing. Will I read more Austen novels? Yes, I plan on reading Pride and Prejudice next. Am I likely to be counted among Austen's legions of devoted fans? Not likely, if I don't find a stronger injection of irony thrown into the mix. But one can always hope.
    • 3/5
      I love Elinor, she is such a wonderful character, Marianne on the other hand is just exasperating. Her moping and ridiculous dramatics were tedious, I can't imagine being quite so understanding if I were in the same position as Elinor. I guess though that is the point ... Sense and Sensibility. I love Austen's biting sarcasm, she always manages to make me giggle and her bad characters really are awful, so it's easy to barack against them. An enjoyable read.
    • 3/5
      Not very momorable work.
    • 5/5
      Thank you to Jim Hart at Bethany House for providing my copy of this classic. I couldn't help but wonder how the classic might have been improved.Historical and cultural details and definitions from England's early 1800s, facts about Austen's life that enhance the storyline, as well as many other notations, conveniently interspersed along the side margins make this an easy-to-use tutorial.I suggest that Homeschoolers, students of all ages and stages would benefit by the read or rereading. As a retired high school English teacher, I would chose this edition to teach.