Sense and Sensibility (working title: Elinor and Marianne) is the first book written by English author Jane Austen. It was published in 1811 without the author's name. The title page lists "By A Lady" instead of Jane Austen's name.

The story is set sometime between 1792 and 1797. It follows three Dashwood sisters and their widowed mother as they must leave their family home in Sussex and move to a small cottage on the property of a distant relative in Devon. There, the two oldest sisters face love and heartbreak that challenge their different personalities.

Plot summary

On his deathbed, Henry Dashwood asks his son, John, to care for his stepmother and half-sisters—Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret—using his inheritance. However, John’s wife, Fanny, convinces him not to support them, leaving them with very little money.

Edward Ferrars, Fanny’s brother, visits. When he and Elinor grow close, Fanny tells Mrs. Dashwood that Edward is expected to marry someone else. Offended, Mrs. Dashwood moves her family to Barton Cottage in Devonshire, which her cousin, Sir John Middleton, offers to rent for a low price. Later, while dining with the Middletons at Barton Park, Colonel Brandon, a family friend, shows interest in Marianne. However, Marianne, who is sixteen, finds Colonel Brandon’s age of thirty-five too old for her romantic ideas.

While walking, Marianne sprains her ankle. John Willoughby helps her home. During later visits, their shared love for art makes Marianne fall in love with him, ignoring proper behavior. Just as they seem close to becoming engaged, Willoughby tells the Dashwoods he must leave for London indefinitely because he owes money to his elderly cousin, Mrs. Smith. Marianne is deeply upset.

When Edward visits Barton Cottage, he appears sad. Soon after, Anne and Lucy Steele, impolite relatives of Sir John’s mother-in-law, Mrs. Jennings, stay at Barton Park. Lucy tells Elinor that she and Edward are secretly engaged, showing Elinor that Lucy is jealous and calculating.

Mrs. Jennings invites Elinor and Marianne to visit her in London. After Marianne’s letters to Willoughby go unanswered, they meet at a ball. Willoughby, with another woman, greets Marianne coldly and later tells her he is now engaged to the wealthy Miss Grey. Marianne is heartbroken but tells Elinor they were never truly engaged.

Colonel Brandon tells Elinor that Willoughby once seduced and abandoned his young ward, Eliza Williams. Because of this, Willoughby’s cousin disinherited him, forcing him to marry a rich woman. Meanwhile, the Steele sisters go to London and are invited to stay at John and Fanny’s house instead of Elinor and Marianne. Anne mistakenly believes Edward and Lucy are now close enough for the family to accept Lucy, and she reveals Lucy’s engagement to Edward. This causes the Steele sisters to be sent away, and Edward’s mother orders him to end the engagement. When Edward refuses, he is disinherited in favor of his younger brother. Learning this, Colonel Brandon honors Edward’s honesty by offering him a nearby parsonage, allowing Edward and Lucy to marry after Edward becomes a priest.

Mrs. Jennings takes the Dashwood sisters to visit her second daughter as they return to Devonshire. Marianne walks in the rain and becomes seriously ill. When her condition worsens, Elinor writes home. Colonel Brandon, who lives nearby, offers to bring Marianne’s mother. That night, Willoughby arrives and tells Elinor he truly loved Marianne. However, his harsh words about Eliza and his wife make Elinor less sympathetic to him.

Marianne recovers and feels ashamed of her dramatic sadness after learning about Elinor’s quiet sorrow. She promises to follow her sister’s wise choices in the future.

After returning home, a servant sees Lucy at a market town and reports she is now Mrs. Ferrars. This becomes clear when Edward arrives and reveals Lucy left him to marry his wealthy younger brother. After becoming a priest, Edward marries Elinor, and Marianne later marries Colonel Brandon. The sisters now live peacefully as neighbors.

Composition

Jane Austen wrote the first version of the novel in the form of letters, possibly as early as 1795, when she was about 19 years old, or in 1797 at the age of 21. She gave this early version the working title Elinor and Marianne, which shows the focus on the different personalities of the two oldest Dashwood sisters. This early version was written in letters, a common way to tell stories during that time, which helped readers understand the characters’ thoughts and feelings more deeply. Later, Austen changed the story from letters to a continuous story and renamed it Sense and Sensibility. This change allowed her to explore the story’s themes and ideas about society more fully.

Austen was inspired by books from the late 1700s that also discussed love, rules of behavior, and society. A book called Life and Love (1785) by Adam Stevenson, which describes personal love stories and the pressures of society, may have influenced Austen’s portrayal of difficult emotional situations and social challenges. Another book, A Gossip’s Story (1796) by Jane West, is also believed to have influenced Austen. This book includes one sister who acts with reason and another who is more emotional. West’s emotional sister is named Marianne, the same name as Austen’s character. Modern copies of West’s book show similarities in both the story and themes, suggesting Austen may have used these ideas in her own work.

Austen may have also been inspired by real people when creating some characters. For example, Warren Hastings, the first Governor-General of India, is often linked to Colonel Brandon in the story. Similarities include rumors of having an illegitimate child—Hastings with Eliza de Feuillide and Brandon with Eliza Brandon—and both leaving for India at a young age. Both Hastings and Brandon are also connected to dueling and issues of honor, which are shown in Colonel Brandon’s background. A scholar named Linda Robinson Walker has said that Hastings’ influence can be seen in Colonel Brandon, and that Austen may have used her knowledge of real people and events to make her characters more realistic.

Critical views

Early reviews of Sense and Sensibility focused on the novel’s lessons about proper behavior and its characters. The Norton Critical Edition of the book includes many of these early responses. An "Unsigned Review" in the February 1812 Critical Review praised the novel for being well-written, realistic, and having a story that is both interesting and not too long. The reviewer especially liked Elinor and her mother, while noting that Marianne’s strong emotions led to her own unhappiness.

Another "Unsigned Review" in the May 1812 British Critic highlighted the novel’s role as a guide to proper behavior. The reviewer believed that Austen showed how Elinor’s calm and thoughtful nature leads to better life choices than Marianne’s overly emotional one. The reviewer said the book includes useful lessons about life within an enjoyable story.

W.F. Pollock’s 1861 article in Frasier’s Magazine, titled "British Novelists," is an early example of how critics later viewed Sense and Sensibility. Pollock focused on the novel’s moral lessons and described the characters in a list-like way, assuming Austen favored Elinor’s personality and extending this to other characters. He criticized characters like Mrs. Palmer for being silly and Sir John Dashwood for being selfish. However, an anonymous article in The Englishwoman’s Domestic Magazine (1866) disagreed, saying Elinor was "too good" a character and sympathized more with Marianne. This article also claimed the novel’s strength was not the main characters but how well Austen portrayed smaller characters. Alice Meynell’s 1894 article in The Pall Mall Gazette agreed that Austen’s attention to small details and minor characters made the story effective. She noted that the children in the story helped show the foolishness of their mothers, like Lady Middleton.

In Austen’s use of the words "sense" and "sensibility," "sense" means good judgment or wisdom, while "sensibility" refers to being sensitive or emotional. By changing the title from the names of the sisters to their qualities, Austen gave the story more thoughtful meaning. However, the sisters’ traits are not completely opposite. Through the story, Marianne learns self-control after suffering emotionally, while Elinor becomes more open about her feelings.

Some critics, like A. Walton Litz, thought the novel struggled between being humorous and serious, with its structure never fully resolved. Tony Tanner saw the story as showing the conflict between personal desires and societal rules, as seen in how the sisters’ traits affect their lives. While Marianne’s sensitivity has its benefits, her extreme emotions nearly cause her physical illness.

Claire Tomalin noted that Austen’s approach to the story was uncertain, as she seemed unsure whether sense or sensibility should win. Marianne is described as kind, intelligent, and loving, and even Willoughby, who has flaws, still cares for her. Because of this, some readers find Marianne’s marriage to Colonel Brandon unsatisfying.

Rachel Brownstein argued that the sisters are more similar than different. Elinor has a kind heart and can feel romantic emotions, while Marianne has good judgment. Their differences are shown through their personalities: Elinor is more reserved and polite, while Marianne enjoys poetry, walks in nature, and believes in deep romantic love. Their closeness allows these differences to become clear during their conversations.

Mary Favret studied how Austen used letters in her writing. In stories that use letters, characters’ actions and feelings are shown through their correspondence. Favret noted that Austen avoided this style in Sense and Sensibility, showing that her characters’ inner thoughts are not fully expressed in letters. Instead, the story’s narrator provides insights. Favret said Austen’s use of letters was different from earlier writers like Samuel Richardson, as her letters did not always reveal true feelings. Elinor, in particular, is described as an "anti-epistolary heroine" because her thoughts are not shown through letters but guide the story. Favret believed Austen created a new way of telling stories by focusing on the narrator’s observations rather than letters, making the story more realistic. She also pointed out that letters, like the one Marianne writes to Willoughby, can be misleading, as both their love and the letter are false. Favret noted that the sisters’ letters highlight their different personalities: Elinor’s is dutiful, while Marianne’s is more emotional. She also observed that the lovers who write letters to each other in the story never end up together.

A common topic in Austen’s criticism is how society’s laws, especially those about family and inheritance, affect the characters. Gene Ruoff’s book Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility discusses these issues, focusing on wills and inheritance. Ruoff explains that society strongly valued male children in these legal matters, which influenced the story’s events.

Publication history

In 1811, Thomas Egerton, who worked for a publishing house called the Military Library in London, agreed to publish a book in three volumes. Jane Austen paid for the book to be printed and gave the publisher a percentage of the money made from selling the book. The cost of printing the book was more than one-third of Austen’s yearly household income of £460 (about £15,000 in 2008 money). She earned £140 (about £5,000 in 2008 money) from the first edition, which sold all 750 copies by July 1813. A second edition was announced in October 1813.

Sense and Sensibility was the first of Austen’s books to be published again in England after her death. It was also the first Austen novel to be illustrated in Britain, as part of a series called the Standard Novels published by Richard Bentley in 1833. The book has been published continuously since 1811 and has been illustrated, shortened, and adapted for plays, movies, and television many times.

The book was quickly translated into French by Madame Isabelle de Montolieu, who called it Raison et Sensibilité, ou les deux manières d'aimer (1815). Montolieu knew very little English, and she relied on assistants to summarize Austen’s novels, which she then translated into French. Her translations often changed the stories and characters significantly. For example, in Montolieu’s version, Marianne calls Willoughby an "angel" and an "Adonis" when they first meet, lines that are not in the original English version. In another scene, Mrs. Dashwood criticizes her husband for planning to help his widowed stepmother, but in Montolieu’s version, Mrs. Dashwood continues to refer to their son "Harry" as the reason for her objections, changing her motives. Additionally, Montolieu added a scene where Edward, the Dashwood sisters, and their mother cry and hold hands after learning that Robert Ferrars married Lucy Steele, a scene that was not in Austen’s original book. Austen’s story ends with Robert and Lucy’s marriage being successful, but Montolieu’s version makes their marriage a failure.

Adaptations

• 1971: A BBC television version was adapted by Denis Constanduros and directed by David Giles.
• 1981: A seven-episode TV series was directed by Rodney Bennett.
• 1995: A movie version was adapted by Emma Thompson and directed by Ang Lee.
• 2000: A Tamil version titled Kandukondain Kandukondain was directed by Rajiv Menon.
• 2008: A three-episode BBC TV series was adapted by Andrew Davies and directed by John Alexander.
• 2014: Kumkum Bhagya, an Indian Hindi soap opera on Zee TV, was loosely based on the novel.
• 2017: Kasthooriman, an Indian Malayalam soap opera on Asianet, was a loose adaptation of the novel.
• 2024: Sense and Sensibility, an adaptation from the Hallmark Channel in the United States. This version features Black actors in the main roles.
• Focus Features announced in 2025 an upcoming adaptation with Daisy Edgar-Jones as Elinor and Esme Creed-Miles as Marianne.

• In 2013, Helen Edmundson adapted Sense and Sensibility for BBC Radio 4.

• 2013: A musical with a book and lyrics by Jeffrey Haddow and music by Neal Hampton was first performed by the Denver Center Theatre Company in April 2013, directed by Marcia Milgrom Dodge. It was first shown in the UK by the Surrey Opera Company in May 2023.
• 2014: The Utah Shakespeare Festival presented an adaptation by Joseph Hanreddy and J.R. Sullivan.
• 2016: The Bedlam theatrical troupe produced a minimalist version adapted by Kate Hamill and directed by Eric Tucker. This version was first performed in 2014.
• 2025: The American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Virginia, presented an adaptation by Emma Whipday with Brian McMahon.

• 1996: Author Emma Tennant published Elinor and Marianne, a sequel written as an epistolary novel (a format similar to Austen’s original Sense and Sensibility), describing the married lives of the Dashwood sisters.
• 2009: Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters, a humorous mix of stories by Ben H. Winters, was published with Jane Austen credited as a co-author.
• In 2013, author Joanna Trollope published Sense & Sensibility: A Novel as part of The Austen Project series, updating the characters to the modern day with a satirical style.
• 2016: Manga Classics: Sense and Sensibility, published by UDON Entertainment’s Manga Classics imprint, was released in August 2016.