Sense and Sensibility

"What she did, she did perfectly." So said Anthony Trollope of Jane Austen, and he has been seconded by generations of avid Austen readers. "Sense and Sensibility introduces us to the Sisters Dashwood--the reserved and sensible Elinor, and the passionate and impetuous Marianne. This new edition includes a discussion of Austen's original reception and ever-increasing popularity, culminating in the rash of film adaptations and sequels to her novels. Laura Engel received her B.A. from Bryn Mawr College and her M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. She has taught in independent schools in New York City and is now a visiting assistant professor of English at Macalester College. Her previous publications include essays on the novelists A. S. Byatt and Edna O'Brien. Her forthcoming book is a biography of three eighteenth-century British actresses.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) was an English novelist known primarily for her six major novels—Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey, and Persuasion—which observe and critique the British gentry of the late eighteenth century. Her mastery of wit, irony, and social commentary made her a beloved and acclaimed author in her lifetime, a distinction she still enjoys today around the world.