Genre: love romance.
Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously; By A Lady appears on the cover page where the author's name might have been. It tells the story of the Dashwood sisters, Elinor and Marianne, both of age to marry.
The novel follows the young women to their new home with their widowed mother, a meagre cottage on the property of a distant relative, where they experience love, romance and heartbreak. The novel is set in southwest England, London and Sussex between 1792 and 1797.[1]
The novel sold out its first print run of 750 copies in the middle of 1813, marking a success for its author, who then had a second print run later that year. The novel continued in publication throughout the 19th, 20th and 21st centuries.
Marianne Dashwood can’t understand her sister. How could the attractive, witty, and charming Elinor fall for the quiet, self-effacing, and rather dull Edward Ferrars? And, if the two are in love, why don’t they shout it to the world? Meanwhile, Elinor worries that Marianne’s all-out, heart-first approach to life will hurt her, especially when it comes to the dashing, passionate John Willoughby. Ever since Willoughby carried Marianne home after she was injured in a fall, he has become a fixture in the small cottage Elinor and Marianne have recently moved into with their mother and younger sister. The two sisters spar good-naturedly over the merits of full-blown emotionalism versus reticence and self-discipline in matters of the heart. Fond as they are of each other, each is certain that hers is the only true path to love. Meanwhile, both Edward and Willoughby harbor secrets that will force these women to doubt their philosophies, their judgment, and their chances for happiness. With Sense and Sensibility, her first published novel, Jane Austen served notice that a new and important author had arrived—one whose style, wit, and piercing sense of satire supported a compelling story peopled with finely drawn characters and punctuated with remarkable insights into the human condition.