Sense & Sensibility

Drafted in shadow, but destined to endure—Austen’s first spark of genius.

Jane Austen began working on Sense and Sensibility as early as 1795, when she was just 19. At the time, it bore the title Elinor and Marianne and was written in epistolary form—a series of letters between characters, much like Samuel Richardson’s novels. Years later, she revised it significantly, transforming it into the narrative we know today.

By the time it was finally published in 1811, Jane was 35 years old and living in Chawton Cottage with her mother and sister. It was her first published novel, issued anonymously—“By a Lady”—and it marked the quiet beginning of a literary revolution. Austen paid for the publication herself, using the earnings to cover printing costs and eventually turning a modest profit.

Though debuting without fanfare, the book introduced the world to Jane Austen’s hallmark wit, precision, and shrewd observation of human nature.

The Story Elinor and Marianne Dashwood are sisters, but emotional opposites. Elinor, the elder, is all composure and careful judgment; Marianne is fiery, passionate, and governed by the romance of feeling over fact. When their family is left nearly penniless after their father’s death, the two are forced to navigate the treacherous terrain of love, propriety, and survival under the watchful gaze of society.

Marianne falls hard for the dashing but unreliable Willoughby, while Elinor conceals her heartbreak over the seemingly withdrawn Edward Ferrars. As fortunes twist and secrets unravel, both women must learn what it means to love wisely—not just passionately.

Sense and Sensibility is a novel of contrasts—head and heart, restraint and indulgence, duty and desire. And in true Austen fashion, it reminds us that sensibility without sense is as dangerous as sense without feeling. The trick, as always, is balance.