Sense & Sensibility
Sense and Sensibility is the first novel by the English author Jane Austen, published in 1811. It was published anonymously: By A Lady appears on the title page where the author’s name might have been. It is the story of two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, as they come of age. After the death of their father they are forced to leave their family estate and to move, with their mother and younger sister, to a cottage in rural Devonshire.The story charts their experiences in love, loss and a growing understanding of the world, themselves and each other, playing in particular on the internal conflicts between the qualities of sense and sensibility that each sister displays.
From the Jane Austen House:
Jane Austen originally drafted the novel in 1795 whilst living in Steventon, at which time it was called Elinor & Marianne. By some accounts it was first written as a novel-in-letters, but no evidence of this survives. Jane revised the text in Steventon in 1797-8, and again in Chawton in 1809-10.
Jane’s brother Henry agreed to become her informal literary agent and secured her a publisher, Thomas Egerton, who published the novel on commission (meaning that the author took the financial risk, rather than the publisher). Sense & Sensibility appeared at the end of October 1811. It was published anonymously; the title page simply stated that it was ‘By a Lady’. The first print run, which probably consisted of between 750-1000 copies, completely sold out within two years, making Jane a handsome profit of £140.
YAY the gang is back together again!! I am so happy to be group reading these again, it is just good quick fun. I am a Brontë girl (DARKNESS, MY OLD FRIEND) but these Austen books provide snark and just amusement, and we need that right now. We are starting with Sense and Sensibility, which use to be my favorite Austen. I am grateful for a shorter read this month. Maybe this time through I will find a new favorite yet again, current favorite is Northanger Abbey. At any rate Sense and Sensibility is finished for the month and I have put on hold at the library a retelling that is suggested by Epic Reads, Rosewood: A Midsummer Meet Cute.
New York Times bestselling Sayantani DasGupta brings her trademark wit and insight to this bright and funny Sense and Sensibility retelling! Eila Das is used to following her head, rather than her heart. When she meets Rahul at Rosewood, a summer camp where campers are being scouted for the hit Bridgerton-like TV show, she experiences…feelings. Between the drama of the show and the drama of the camp, Eila will have to keep her wits about her to make it through the summer. But when she has to choose between her head and her heart, what will she do?
TOTALLY not my type of read which should make for a fun February read.
Snow and bitter temps here the last three, four days continuing in the next several days as well. No school and even the library is closed. So extra reading it is.
Til next time.
