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BritGirlinSLC

Too many typos

Reviewed in the United States on July 22, 2023

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This Chiltern publication is a beautiful book, but the typos detract from the quality. There were at least 10-15 typos. Where was the editor?

Bibliophile without Borders

beautiful version of an old classic with original watercolours

Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2013

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If you have only seen the movies, please get this beautiful edition to acquaint yourself, or if you have read it, reacquaint yourself with this wonderful story. I had not read Sense and Sensibility for many years and recently decided to curl up one afternoon with this edition. I was amazed at how much I had forgotten: this was not just the story of the two Dashwood sisters who were so different, but also of the families that touched their lives and a very biting social commentary on social climbers who choose money over worth. The Dashwood sisters come from money, but their dying father unwisely made no provisions for them and left all in the hands of their weak brother and his mercenary wife. Their brother means well but is in thrall to his wife Fanny who controls him and the purse strings, and the Dashwood women are given only a pittance to live on, and no addition to their dowries.

Of course, both the Ang Lee and more recent BBC movies let us know without question that their sister-in-law Fanny Ferrars Dashwood comes from a family whose rise in the world far outpaced their attempt at refinement, and seeing in the Dashwood sisters the example of what a real "lady" should be, she passionately despises them their effortless gentility. It is through her machinations that her husband's half sisters, younger sister and mother-in-law are reduced to living in a cold and distant cottage ("out of sight, out of mind") on 500 L. a year (about $25,000 today), a far cry from the wealth and privilege in which they grew up and which gives them only a lower middle class status. When Fanny's brother Edward quietly admires Eleanor Dashwood, Mrs Dashwood unwisely hints at their mutual feelings and Fanny steps in to separate them.

The Ferrars family with the exception of Edward are alike in their love of money and position. Fearful of being mistaken for anything but the tonnish class they aspire to, they do anything to make sure that money and position are allied with the family and nothing less will do. With the Dashwood women banished far away, Fanny thinks that all is well. But fate takes a hand: not only in the form of the sporting Sir John Middleton and his loud but kindly mother-in-law Mrs Jennings but the chance invitation of the social-climbing cousins of Mrs Jennings, one of whom is aware of Edward's admiration of Eleanor Dashwood, and who puts a very large spoke in the wheel of Eleanor's possible happiness.

There are indeed people in this world who cannot bear to see anyone deserving to be happy, and thus it is for Fanny and Mrs Ferrars and the most enterprising Lucy Steele. Fanny, seeing Lucy as no threat and someone who is even lower down the pecking order of gentility, invites and befriends her over her own sisters-in-law with disastrous results. Seeing a social climber who is even more adept at manipulating people than herself, Fanny and her mother fall into unbecoming, and as Jane Austen subtly shows us, rather common hysterics.

It is Eleanor and the wonderfully noble and patient Colonel Brandon who are the real winners, people of true worth who are able to hide broken hearts yet still act with a nobility of spirit and who respectively get their hearts desires in the complementary Edward Ferrars and Marianne. These four people are vastly superior to almost everyone in this book, and are the most deserving of great happiness. For Edward and Eleanor, there are few regrets in the respective lack of fortune because they each see each other as their heart's desire (and things are eventually somewhat resolved financially for them to ease their situation). Marianne and the wonderful Colonel Brandon find true love with each other, mending each other's broken hearts, and as Jane Austen points out, Marianne never loves by halves and soon gives her heart completely to her Colonel, as he does to her.

It is worthwhile to note that Jane Austen did not shrink from discussing situations and social problems that were usually brushed under the carpet. The daughter of Colonel Brandon's first love is the victim of the unrepentant Willoughby who ruins her for sport and although he does care for Marianne, it is probably because Marianne has a family and especially a careful mother that makes him keep his distance. He is far too shallow to care much beyond his own pleasures and reading between the lines, we realise that Marianne's fate could have been much different if she had been less genteel.

This particular edition has some beautiful watercolour illustrations that can be enlarged on a Kindle Fire that are a lovely addition to the book.

DD Gott - Donadees Corner

The results of love!

Reviewed in the United States on July 3, 2014

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Jane Austen's writing is one that I had trouble with when I first started reading the classics and over the time I have come to really enjoy. She took the time period and the problems of women in that time to different levels and put it out there for others to read. I found this book filled with heartache to be a perfect example of it.

The problems that women faced were numerous and the fact that they could only do two things in life, either marry or not was a given fact. Ms Austen brings to life the perils of the first and what can happen when a young woman fell in love and it was not returned. Driven to heartbreak she told how Marianne fell ill with the loss of her love and her sister, Elinor fell to hidden despair at the same time.

We also were given an example of the honor of the men of that time. Both in Edward but also in Colonel Brandon. As I have found with all of her books though she leads us on a merry chase to only have the happy ever after endings. However in this book we do find that there were some really interesting twists and turns to get us there.

What did I like about this book, well I think what I found is the honor of both men was the best. Edward and Colonel Brandon were both in a complicated love but in different ways. Edward due to folly and the Colonel due to a lost love. I was so proud of Edward when he stood by his commitment, even when his mother disowned him. Then the Colonel so giving even when he thought there was no chance for himself.

What did I not like, well that has to be obvious, Lucy and Fanny. They both drove me mad with anger. Throw in the stupidity of Edwards mother and it was enough to really give way to a fit. I know that even today there are women like that but it just made my skin crawl.

The best part of the whole book though was the ending. Edward to be released from the commitment and allowing him the chance for true love and for the Colonel to win the love of Marianne. Of course, even better than that was the love of family that surrounded all of them.

Reading the classics is an honor that should be required of our younger generations so that they can see just how far we have come. They have a freedom that was unheard of and yet they don't seen to understand how much they have. Even I have learned to really appreciate what so many prior to me have gone through just so that I have the right to make a decision for myself. This was a really great read and I am looking forward to continuing my enjoyment of the classics.

Scar R.

Not as good as the Pride and Prejudice version

Reviewed in the United States on July 13, 2023

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Still a fun read, came in perfect condition, no bends or anything. I bought this after reading their version of Pride and Prejudice, and was hoping it would be as good. The notes don't give as many cultural contexts as P&P, and much of it is rating who are the worst characters. If I had read this first, I would have enjoyed it more.

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NurseyMom

Pride and Prejudice is a bit better

Reviewed in Canada on April 7, 2023

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The product its fine, it seems like a print-on-demand book as the printed date was just days before I ordered it. There were some spelling and grammar mistakes. The text itself is fine, it was a quick read. I would recommend reading Pride and Prejudice before this.

Online Shopper

Loved it

Reviewed in India on November 5, 2018

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Sense and Sensibility is a lot like a Fast & Furious movie, except there are no supercar races, gun fights, fist fights, robbery, and scantily clad girls. Come to think of it Sense and Sensibility is nothing like a Fast & Furious movie. I just had no idea how to start off the review.

Actually Sense and Sensibility is (seriously now) a lot like Pride and Prejudice. What with the sisters, one stoic and worldly, one a little wild, impulsive and naive, not to mention the youngest one who is the Maggie Simpson* of the family and does not have much to do. Then we have the nice but immediately friendzoned gentlemen, the handsome cad and the twittering mom with the dollar GBP sign popping up in her eyes when considering her daughters’ matrimonial prospects.

In all fairness to Ms. Austen, the two books are not that similar, Sense and Sensibility is her debut novel and she later used some of the same elements to write her magnum opus (“Pride” that is). The book is entirely focussed on the two Dashwood sisters Elinor and Marianne and their felicitous relationships with men. This is not the kind of book you should put through the Bechdel test because the ladies herein very seldom talk about anything else except the men in their lives. Still, you never have to wonder what the ladies in this book do in their spare time because all their time seems to be spare time, Thomas Hardy’s heroines seem to have much harder and more productive lives. Still, I don’t want to put too much of a negative spin on Sense and Sensibility because it is a pleasure to read in spite of its flaws and low stakes.

Jane Austen is brilliant at writing silly, twittering, meddling women who actually mean well but never stop talking except when they are listening through the door and completely misunderstanding the snatches of conversation they could hear. Mrs. Jennings, a friend of the family, is my favorite character in the book, she can always be relied upon to hilariously bark up the wrong tree. Curiously characterization is both a strength and a weakness of this book. The “good guys”, namely Edward Ferrars and Colonel Brandon, are awfully dull, semi-zombified gentlemen. Whereas Willoughby the cad is lively and always game for a laugh. Sir John Dashwood, who is somewhat of an antagonist, is not so lively but he is hilariously tactless and shallow. Our two heroines are both too nice and are no match for the almost-femme fatale Lucy Steele.

Jane Austen is at her best when she is skewering people in polite society and terribly inhibited gents:
“The nature of her commendation, in the present case, however, happened to be particularly ill-suited to the feelings of two thirds of her auditors, and was so very unexhilarating to Edward, that he very soon got up to go away”

Unexhilarating! LOL! Then there is this bit which is worthy of a high five:

“she did not really like them at all. Because they neither flattered herself nor her children, she could not believe them good-natured; and because they were fond of reading, she fancied them satirical: perhaps without exactly knowing what it was to be satirical; but THAT did not signify. It was censure in common use, and easily given.”

I started reading Jane Austen to find out what the fuss is about, why do the studios keep adapting her works for films and TV? Initially I did not get it, her storylines always seem inconsequential to me but I have always liked her beautiful prose so I keep coming back to read more. With Sense and Sensibility it finally clicked for me. The snark! Beneath the Victorian politeness and sense of decorium Ms. Austen was a fabulously snarky lady. Having come to this conclusion I am practically ready to join the rank of the Janeites. I already have a bonnet, with several bees in it.

* and her name is Maggie Dashwood! (sort of)

Aneta

Different cover

Reviewed in Poland on March 21, 2023

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The book arrived in a timely manner and without any signs of damage. However, I was quite dissapointed to discover that the cover was a bit different from the one on the website (it had pink flowers on it, not light yellow as my copy has). It is not a tragedy, but I guess anyone who collects certain editions will understand. The content of the book in terms of print and quality of notes as usually with Penguin Clothbound Classics 10/10.

The Bookish Reader

Beautiful edition of this wonderful book. Don't be afraid of Jane Austen, she is a joy to read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2014

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I loved the characters, from the manipulative Fanny Dashwood to the handsome stranger in Willoughby and the boring yet kind Colonel Brandon. Marianne had extreme emotions, from falling in love immediately to almost dying of a broken heart. Elinor was the more sensible of the sisters, I felt she depicted Jane Austen in this novel.

There were several aspects of this novel which really represented the time it was written in; marriage and life expectancy. Otherwise this is a timeless story, filled with witty observations and characters you may recognise from your own life.

Marriage was a huge pre-occupation for women in Austen times, it determined everything about their lives. It wasn't just about who they married, it affected what their lifestyle would be, who they would socialise with, who their children could marry. Marrying for money was preferred (mostly by the brides) but everyone else involved didn't think it mattered, much better to marry someone rich who you could grow to tolerate than marry for love and be poor.

Life expectancy also changes everything. At several points in the novel references were made to how long someone could expect to live. Mrs Dashwood (40) was only expected to live another 7 years or so, Colonel Brandon was thought extremely old at 35 to be looking for love, Marianne at 17 was already hoping she wouldn't end up as the maiden aunt. The average life expectancy in 1811 was 36, this includes the working class (80% of the population) so I would expect the middle and upper classes to last a little longer. So the pressure was on to marry and have children as early as possible with a hope of seeing your grandchildren before you're 40.

If you're new to Jane Austen or are intimidated by older novels, my advice is just to dive in. If you like romantic stories, you'll love this. Don't focus too much on the language, you will get used to it as you go through. Focus on the characters and the emotions, they are truly timeless.

I loved this book, it's a great introduction to the Austen world and I can't wait to read 'Pride and Prejudice' next month.

Katja H. Labonté

Excellent Classic

Reviewed in Canada on December 23, 2020

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5+ stars & 8/10 hearts. This was the last Austen book I read. The first time I read it, I wasn’t enthusiastic—probably because I was still reeling from shock by the end. But this time, I loved it.

Of course, the writing style was superb. Austen has a great gift for saying much while saying little, and is full of grace and dignity and beauty. Her trick of portraying character and setting in a few little strokes is pure genius, and her deep weave of plot and arc are absolutely amazing. It’s so hard to rate the Austen books, at first, but when I think about it I can set a pretty clear ranking based on how deeply I love the books. To me, Northanger Abbey is really only a hilarious satirical romp with a few good lessons, but Pride & Prejudice is a sparkling masterpiece of wit and style and character—an amazing story, an excellent piece of literature, and a splendid lesson. Emma is a sweet, light-hearted, yet thought-provoking journey, while Mansfield Park is a very deep, almost wistful & nostalgic bittersweet reflection. Persuasion is a delightful, satisfying romance. Sense & Sensibility strikes me a sort of mashup of Emma + Pride & Prejudice in style… more mature and serious than P&P, but with a more somber lesson than Emma.

The characters were amazing. I find it so interesting how much I relate both to Marianne and to Elinor. I am not as silly as Marianne, nor as rude and controlled by my passions (I hope), but I am not as steady and polite as Elinor (I wish). What a model she is, to be sure! She is such a wonderful woman—courageous, strong, beautiful, responsible, loving, and desirous of well-doing in all. Marianne was very sweet, and she meant well—but I think the older I get the more I understand how foolish her 17-year-old opinions are.
And then there's You-Know-Who. I love him, and then hate him, and then am fascinated into loving him again, and then despise him… I simply can’t figure him out and just puzzle over him and try to understand him for a long time after finishing the book. He made me think of Henry Crawford. Both were SO close to redemption but were too weak and threw it aside... and lost forever. (On that topic, though, he did make an important point: “I do not mean to justify myself, but at the same time cannot leave you to suppose that I have nothing to urge—that because she was injured she was irreproachable, and because I was a libertine, she must be a saint.” That is not something people consider enough—and not just about him.)
I loved Colonel Brandon from start to finish. He was amazing. I disliked Edward at first, but he won my regard and kept it to the end. What a respectable, honourable man he was! Lucy was horrid, Robert was awful, Fanny and John and Mrs. Ferrars were terrible. Lady Middleton was... just… very irritating most of the time, yet she could be well-mannered. Sir John you couldn't help liking even as you shook your head or rolled your eyes at him. And Mrs. Jennings I learned to love. She ended up really awfully nice. Mrs. Palmer was just *sigh* and Mr. Palmer was just *eyeroll,* but I did like Mrs. Dashwood, even if she could be foolish and easily swayed. She was at least very loving and honestly admitted to her mistakes.

As for the storyline, it was hooking. I read this entire book in pretty much two days/sessions because I simply COULD NOT put it down. The plot was so done. What a rollercoaster! And the ending is simply hilarious. It’s sobering story, really, but with some excellent lessons. I think what you come away with most is—how strong is your character? This is what will sink you or save you. Could YOU stand like Edward? Endure like Elinor? Persevere like Colonel Brandon? Are you judging people by appearances, or by their characters, or by their status, or by their influence? Do you passionately pursue your own loves and passionately grieve your own pain without noticing the hurt it can give others? Do you blindly pursue what is not for you, or happily choose to do what is not seemly because the one you love suggests it? This one whom you love—is he worthy of your love?

Content: A woman related to one of the MCs is married to a man she despises and runs away from home with another man. Being abandoned by him, she births his child and becomes a prostitute. Her daughter (16) is seduced by another young man, impregnated, and abandoned. Barely detailed + tastefully handled, but probably for ages 16/18+ depending on situation.

A Favourite Quote: “Four months!”—cried Marianne again.—“So calm! so cheerful! how have you been supported?”—
“By feeling that I was doing my duty.— ... I did not love only him;—and while the comfort of others was dear to me, I was glad to spare them from knowing how much I felt. Now, I can think and speak of it with little emotion. I would not have you suffer on my account.”
A Favourite Beautiful Quote: “They gaily ascended the downs, rejoicing in their own penetration at every glimpse of blue sky; and when they caught in their faces the animating gales of a high south-westerly wind, they pitied the fears which had prevented their mother and Elinor from sharing such delightful sensations. “Is there a felicity in the world,” said Marianne, “superior to this?—Margaret, we will walk here at least two hours.” Margaret agreed, and they pursued their way against the wind, resisting it with laughing delight for about twenty minutes longer.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “Her family had of late been exceedingly fluctuating. For many years of her life she had had two sons; but the crime and annihilation of Edward a few weeks ago, had robbed her of one; the similar annihilation of Robert had left her for a fortnight without any; and now, by the resuscitation of Edward, she had one again. In spite of his being allowed once more to live, however, he did not feel the continuance of his existence secure, till he had revealed his present engagement.”

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