13 h 26 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 13 h 26 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if guarding your heart hurts as much as giving it away?
When their father dies, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood lose their home and most of their income. Elinor keeps her worries quiet and counts the cost of every choice. Marianne trusts strong feelings. In Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility, both sisters face love with little money and much to learn.
Shy, gentle Edward Ferrars draws Elinor’s attention, while charming John Willoughby sweeps into Marianne’s life. Around them, relatives guard their fortunes, neighbours offer kindness, and gossips watch every move. Through dinners, dances and private hopes, Austen asks how women can choose wisely when their freedom depends so heavily on money and men.
What you’ll discover
- Two sisters, different hearts Follow Elinor’s quiet restraint and Marianne’s openness as each faces the risks of love.
- Romance under watchful eyes Enter a small community where dinners and outings give neighbours plenty to discuss.
- The price of dependence See how family fortunes and property narrow the choices available to the Dashwood women.
- Kindness beside sharp elbows Meet generous neighbours, greedy relatives and a matchmaking widow with little respect for privacy.
- More than heart against head Discover why Austen lets both sisters hope and hurt, rather than simply choosing a winner.
Who will love it
For readers who love stories about family, money and the risks of love, with dry humour, gossip and the English countryside. A welcoming choice for first-time Austen readers and those seeking a refresher.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A father dies and the money goes
- Two sisters, two ways of feeling
- Edward Ferrars and a quiet attachment
- A small cottage in Devon
- Willoughby sweeps Marianne away
- Manners, gossip and the cost of openness
- London brings hope and strain
- Sense and sensibility are not enemies
- How Austen tells the story
Who’s who
- Elinor DashwoodThe elder sister, steady and watchful, who hides her own feelings in order to protect her mother and sisters.
- Marianne DashwoodThe younger sister, gifted, romantic and open, who believes strong feeling should never be hidden or tamed.
- Mrs DashwoodThe sisters' warm, generous mother, who shares Marianne's love of feeling and often needs Elinor to count the cost.
- Edward FerrarsFanny's shy and gentle brother, who wants a quiet life while his family expects wealth and rank from him.
- Colonel BrandonA grave, kind older neighbour at Barton who quietly admires Marianne and carries a sorrow he rarely speaks about.
- John WilloughbyA charming and dashing young man who rescues Marianne and shares all her tastes in poetry and music.
- Fanny DashwoodJohn's wife, a cold and calculating woman who wants to keep every pound of the family fortune for herself.
- Mrs JenningsA cheerful, gossiping widow who loves matchmaking and takes the sisters under her wing, though she has little sense of privacy.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 13 h 26 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then 0,14 USD a day in your first year on the yearly plan and 0,27 USD a day after, or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Ragione e sentimento in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Ragione e sentimento
by Jane Austen · 1811
Elinor guards her feelings and Marianne follows hers as love, money and gossip put their choices to the test.
Medium level10–20 hours to read25 languages
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then 0,14 USD a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
In short
Sense and Sensibility is the first novel Jane Austen published. It appeared in 1811, under the label of a Lady, and it brought her the first money she earned from her writing.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A father dies and the money goes
The story opens in Sussex, at an estate called Norland Park. The Dashwood family has lived there for generations, and the old owner has just died. He leaves the property to his nephew, Henry Dashwood, but only for his lifetime, and it is already tied up for the nephew's son. When Henry dies not long after, the estate passes to his son John, the child of his first marriage.
Henry's second wife and her three daughters are left with very little. Mrs Dashwood, Elinor, Marianne and the youngest girl, Margaret, will have only a small yearly income to live on. Before he died, Henry asked his son John to look after them. John promises, and he means it, at least for a short while.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about Ragione e sentimento
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is Sense and Sensibility about?
It follows two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, who lose their home and most of their money when their father dies. They move to a cottage in Devon and face love, gossip and disappointment in very different ways.
Who is Elinor and who is Marianne in Sense and Sensibility?
Elinor is the elder sister and stands for sense, meaning self control and careful thought. Marianne is the younger and stands for sensibility, meaning strong, open feeling. Austen shows that each has strengths and each needs something from the other.
What does sensibility mean in the title?
In Austen's time sensibility meant a quick, strong response to feeling, beauty and sorrow, and a readiness to show it. It was fashionable in poems and novels. Austen gently questions it by showing what such openness can cost.
The author
Jane Austen
1775–1817 · English novelist
Jane Austen was an English novelist born in Steventon, Hampshire, in 1775. She lived in Bath, Southampton and Chawton, and died in Winchester in 1817. Her novels included Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814) and Emma (1815). Northanger Abbey and Persuasion appeared after her death.
More by Jane Austen
All 10 booksMore like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
