Sense and Sensibility

By: Jane Austen

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Length: 12 hrs and 43 mins

Publisher's summary

When Mrs. Dashwood is forced by an avaricious daughter-in-law to leave the family home in Sussex, she takes her three daughters to live in a modest cottage in Devon. For Elinor, the eldest daughter, the move means a painful separation from the man she loves, but her sister Marianne finds in Devon the romance and excitement which she longs for. The contrasting fortunes and temperaments of the two girls as they struggle to cope in their different ways with the cruel events which fate has in store for them are portrayed by Jane Austen with her usual irony, humour, and profound sensibility.

©2005 Naxos Audiobooks Ltd. (P)2005 Naxos Audiobooks Ltd.

wonderful narration

I've listened to many audio books over the past six months. This narration is by far my favorite. Juliet Stevenson's characterizations are unique, spot on, and charming. She manages to do character voices that are dramatic without being cheesy. Seeing her name attached to another work would be a selling point for me.

Charming

It had been some years since I read this, and it was a longer book than I remembered. It's title is most apt as a description of the two sisters. While I did find reproach and worry over Marianne's imprudence and open affections, I was always comforted by the constancy of Cl. Brandon. Eleanor's situation rather excited more anxiety and compassion from me, not only for her suffering it alone for so long, but for the meanness of Lucy and the unfeelingness of her friends and relations about herself and Edward. I adored Mrs. Jennings for her kindness and looking after the girls, but her nature towards teasing them and for gossip did grate on my nerves. So fortunate to have her and the Middletons and Palmers though, when their own brother and his in-laws treated them so coldly. Austen is a master at painting portraits of the different sorts of society in town and in the country, of the selfish and greedy social elitists to the warm and humble, the noble and deserving. It is a great depiction of the era in England, and the kinds of situations individuals lived with before the time of greater legal/financial independence for women. As many books as I read about such times and circumstances, it still boggles my mind that my sex's only option in the hopes for a stable livelihood was to marry well/wealthy.

This narration wasn't fantastic, but it was read with great conveyance of emotions. Many of the women had little to distinguish their voices in dialogue, but context usually helped, and their speech style if not the actual sound could make some distinction (Mrs. Palmer and Mrs. Jennings style being VERY different from Fanny or Mrs. Ferrers). The same went for most of the men - while given a sound different from the ladies, they often had to be told apart by their conduct of speech rather than a vocal contrast by the narrator.

A wonderful read. I am always charmed by Austen.

Beautifully done!

The narrator was top-notch. Icing on the cake for a classic book. Well done and very enjoyable. I will definitely listen to this one again and again.

Excellent

Extremely enjoyable. Excellent narration that manages to give individuality and variety to all the characters.

Must-read classic

If you haven't read this before, it's a story you will enjoy very much. It is a classic that is referenced often in modern culture and it will do you good to familiarize yourself with it, even if you read it a long time ago. Although the narrator has an English accent, it is still very easy to understand.

Jane Austen + Juliet Stevenson = Perfection !

An absolute delight ! As good as the movie, which is wonderful. Required listening for Jane Austen fans !

Excellent!

Wonderful narration and timeless classic. I will definately listen to more books with this narrator.

First Austen

The narration was impeccable, the storyline was engaging, the experience was delightful. As this was my first experience with Jane Austen, I can only hope subsequent selections from her works will inspire even greater admiration for the mastery with which this book was written. I sat in awe, repeatedly, as I the parade of Austen's abilities with words left me wondering why I've ever bothered placing pen to paper. Despite this, I felt inspired all the while to attain such skill.

Audible versin much better than reading the book

I am going to be honest here...Jane Austin can be pretty boring for me. I have tried in the past with little success to read her works and have promptly fallen asleep. So I tried the Audible way and was very happy I did. The performance kept me going and wanting more. I would recommend this to any bookworm out there.

Definitely recommend!

Enjoyed this thoroughly! Definitely recommend! And I loved the narrator she sounded just like Emma Thompson which I love!!