Sense and Sensibility Paperback – June 1, 2015

The cover of the book that arrived did not match the cover that is in the picture in the listing. The design is the same but the flowers that are pink in the listing are yellow in real life. Great book though!

A wonderful Jane Austen classic. The story of the Dashwood sisters and their would-be suitors. Typical Jane Austen wit. Really 4 & 1/2 stars. Can't rate it 5 stars, because it's not the best Jane Austen book. But amazing writing with extremely well developed characters. Highly recommend to any fans of the genre.

I loved the movies until I read the book. Austen masters the thoughts of all her characters with perfect clarity and reason.

Recipient: "Beautiful book! Nice weight and perfect size to hold in your hands. Paper is quality. Sheen to the paper is perfect, not too much at all. LOVE these books. The texture to the cover gives such a wonderful feel."

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.

Nice story, narration could have been a bit more distinctive, got lost of who was how from time to time because the same voical for all the characters.

I read a lot of 18th and 19th century novels, but when I got a copy of Sense and Sensibility, my wife teased me. According to her, Jane Austen is strictly an author for teenage girls.It’s not hard to see where she would get that idea. The heroines are literally teenagers, 17 and 19. Austen herself was 19 when she began writing S&S. And the plot is adolescent wish fulfillment: The virtuous, sagacious heroines, though sometimes carried away by passion, and sometimes suffering silently, win the men of their dreams.(To the end, I was hopeful that Marianne would die, or perhaps become an old maid, but no. This is a *happy* ending.)S&S begins hopefully, with some clever characters. Sir John and Lady Middleton, Mr. Dashwood and Mr Palmer are well done. These are some upper class idiots, in the best English literary tradition.Over the course of 350 pages however, as the exigencies of the plot require, the characterizations somehow wear off. Everyone sorts themselves into Team Selfish and Team Generous, as it were.The prose style is exhausting. Here is a characteristic passage. Edward Ferrars has just announced that he intends to marry against his mother’s wishes:“Mrs. Jennings was very warm in her praise of Edward’s conduct, but only Elinor and Marianne understood its true merit. *They* only knew how little he had to tempt him to be disobedient, and how small was the consolation, beyond the consciousness of doing right, that could remain to him in the loss of friends and fortune. Elinor gloried in his integrity; and Marianne forgave all his offenses in compassion for his punishment. But though confidence between them was, by this public discovery, restored to its proper state, and it was not a subject on which either of them were fond of dwelling when alone. Elinor avoided it on principle, as tending to fix still more upon her thoughts, by the too warm, too positive assurances of Marianne, that belief of Edward’s continued affection for herself, which she rather wished to do away, and Marianne’s courage soon failed her, in trying to converse on a topic which always left her more dissatisfied with herself than ever, by the comparison it necessarily produced between Elinor’s conduct and her own.”The very long sentences are not necessarily a problem, but the tortured syntax, huge numbers of pronouns and lack of keywords makes this some heavy prose to trudge through.(The phrase “affection for herself” tripped me up. Affection for whom exactly? I had to reread the paragraph a couple of times to see if I had missed anything. I think it’s just a misplaced modifier.)And one last thing. Nearly every book from this period centers around the middle and upper classes. That’s fine, and as I discussed in my review of “The Nether World”, peasants and proles don’t always make for a very interesting novel.But in the case of S&S: What a bunch of leeches! I don’t believe a single person in this book has a job. (Mr Ferrars becomes an ordained minister, but he does not practice. Mr Palmer is a politician, but that is not a real job.)Two hundred pounds per year is considered an impossibly small sum to live on. (Laborers in 1800 often lived on 10 or 20.)They do nothing all day but play whist, attend dances, hunt, take walks, play the piano and sketch. There are no tradesmen, and servants are barely mentioned, although I know they all had tons. Lots of novelists write about high society, but Jane Austen writes about the land of Cockaigne. Money just happens to people.

I am thrilled to tell you that I've received a very beautiful and rare collectible edition. I was super excited and this time amazon satisfied me 99% (one % not because the packaging was not good and also the bookmark was not there).So this is michael o mara classic collection. A hardcover book with white good quality pages, clothbound cover and a black ribbon book mark(maybe that's why they didn't provided book mark).I'm in love with this edition and waited very long to buy this one.There's chinese style painting of tree on the cover as well as inside.

The story of the three Dashwood sisters and their mother who are obliged to leave their old home Norland Park on the death of their father to move to a cottage, Barton Cottage on the estate of John Middleton. Marianne [16 and a half]falls in love with dashing Mr Willoughby who appears to be in love with her but who abandons her for the fortune of a Miss Sophia Grey. Being very romantic Marianne suffers horribly when left, so much so that she almost dies of grief.Colonel Brandon, considered far too old by Marianne,- he's thirty five, saves the day.Marion in Hailey Oxfordshie

This is the first Jane Austen book that I have read. I must say that it took a while to get used to the language used but I got the gist of it. I don’t usually read historical type romance or period drama etc. I reading enjoyed it. The setting is described well and the story really draws you in. The characters are also well written and you get a feel for The main heroine Elinor, also her sister Marianne and their mother Mrs Dashwood. It seems strange reading a story written so long ago with so much drama. The way marriages are formed more for financial gain and status rather than love or romance. Some of the characters are so deceitful and jealous and will go to great lengths to get ahead. I will definitely read more from Jane Austen.

I haven’t yet read this book, but the story is no doubt going to be wonderful. My issue is the quality of the book and it’s cover...I spent a great deal of time searching through the different collections of Jane Austen, as I want to get a number of her stories in matching covers/styles, so when I saw this one, I thought the covers looked lovely. Sense and Sensibility was the first one I have ordered, and I’m very disappointed with the cover and finish. It looks like someone just printed out an image file of the cover, printed it out on a bit of flimsy card, then stuck it to the book. As you can see from the photos attached, the book is matte due to the lack of laminated card used, the edges look a little rough as if someone just sliced the cover from a guillotine found in a school classroom. You can’t even read the title or author on the spine of the book!Considering this is supposed to be part of the English Library Penguin edition, I was expecting more than this. There also appears to be a grease smudge on the front cover as well, which wouldn’t have been noticeable if it was a laminate/glossy card used.Very disappointed in the finish. Half considering returning it and putting my money towards a better copy which will actually look nice/readable on my shelf.

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.