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In chapter two of Jane Austen's very first novel, a husband and wife sit down to talk about money. To my mind, it is one of the funniest scenes she ever wrote.
John Dashwood has just promised his dying father that he will look after his stepmother and his three half-sisters. He decides, generously, that a thousand pounds for each sister would be right. Then his wife Fanny starts to talk. She does not argue so much as reason, one sensible-sounding point after another, and by the end of the chapter the gift has shrunk to almost nothing. It is a small masterpiece of polite selfishness, and it tells you very quickly what kind of writer you are dealing with.
A debut that cost her money
"Sense and Sensibility" was published on 30 October 1811 by Thomas Egerton of the Military Library in Whitehall, London, in three volumes. The title page did not carry Austen's name. It said only that the book was "By A Lady."
Austen (born 16 December 1775 in Steventon, Hampshire; died 18 July 1817 in Winchester) was the daughter of George Austen, rector of Steventon. By the time the novel appeared she was living in a cottage at Chawton with her mother and her sister Cassandra, where they had moved in 1809. Her brother Henry helped arrange the deal with Egerton, and it was not a comfortable one for a new author. The book was published on commission: Austen covered the costs herself, a sum of more than a third of her household's yearly income, and paid the publisher a cut of the sales.
The gamble worked. Reviews were favourable, the first edition of 750 copies had sold out by July 1813, and Austen cleared a profit of 140 pounds. A second edition was advertised that October. It was the first of her six novels, followed by "Pride and Prejudice" in 1813.
The book had a long road to that point. Austen first wrote it as a novel in letters, called "Elinor and Marianne," after its two heroines. She later rewrote it as continuous narrative and gave it a new title that named not the sisters but their qualities.
Where the story begins
Meet the three Dashwood sisters as Austen introduces them in chapter one. Elinor, the eldest at nineteen, has sound judgment, and strong feelings she knows how to govern. Marianne, not quite seventeen, is clever and generous but does nothing by halves. Margaret, thirteen, has already caught some of Marianne's romantic streak. Their mother, Mrs. Dashwood, is John's stepmother.
Their trouble begins with a will. Norland Park, the Sussex estate where they live, came to their father, Henry, from his elderly uncle, but the will bound it to pass on to John and then to John's young son. Henry's widow and daughters could not be provided for out of it; the old man left each girl a thousand pounds. That is why chapter two's conversation matters so much.
After Henry's death the women remain at Norland for several months. Rescue comes by post. Sir John Middleton, a relation of Mrs. Dashwood with property in Devonshire, offers a cottage on easy terms, and she accepts without much hesitation. So the family sets off for Barton Cottage, about four miles north of Exeter, near Sir John's own house, Barton Park.
That is the doorway. What Devonshire brings them is for you to find out.
Reading it well
Know what the title words meant. In Austen's usage, "sense" means good judgment and prudence, and "sensibility" means sensitivity, sympathy, and depth of feeling. Modern readers sometimes take the title as a contest with a winner. It reads better as a question. Neither sister is a cartoon of her quality, and much of the pleasure is watching how each one carries a little of the other.
Pay attention to the minor characters. Austen's satire lives in them: Fanny's tidy reasoning, cheerful Sir John and his elegant but distant wife, and others who reveal themselves the moment they open their mouths. She rarely comments on them directly. She lets them talk.
Expect money to matter. Incomes, inheritances, and the cost of a household are spelled out in figures. This is not background detail. It shapes what every character can choose.
Choosing an edition
The text is in the public domain in the US, and Project Gutenberg hosts it free as eBook #161, with an improved edition listed as #21839. That is an easy way to sample the opening chapters before you buy. For a first full reading, you may prefer a printed edition with notes, since the period vocabulary of rank and money is easier with a little guidance.
Who will enjoy it
If you loved "Pride and Prejudice" and want to know where Austen started, begin here. It also suits readers who enjoy sibling stories, quiet social comedy, and novels where a single conversation can change a family's fortunes. And if you have only seen a screen version, the book offers something no film can: Austen's narrating voice, dry and exact, sitting just behind every scene.
Start with chapter two. If Fanny's arithmetic makes you laugh, you are ready for the rest.
Sources
- Wikipedia, "Sense and Sensibility" (first drafted in epistolary form under the working title "Elinor and Marianne," later revised and retitled; published by Thomas Egerton of the Military Library, Whitehall, on 30 October 1811 in three volumes; credited "By A Lady"; Austen's debut novel; published on commission at Austen's expense, a cost of more than a third of her household income of 460 pounds; first edition of 750 copies sold out by July 1813 with a profit of 140 pounds; a second edition advertised in October 1813; opening setup; meanings of "sense" and "sensibility" in Austen's usage; the two qualities not strictly opposed) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sense_and_Sensibility
- Wikipedia, "Jane Austen" (birth and death dates and places; father George Austen, rector of Steventon; move to Chawton with her mother and sister Cassandra in 1809; her brother Henry arranging publication with Egerton; no name on her books in her lifetime; her six novels and their dates; favourable reviews) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Austen
- Project Gutenberg, "Sense and Sensibility by Jane Austen" (eBook #161, public domain in the USA, an improved edition available as eBook #21839; full text of chapters 1-6: Norland Park in Sussex, the terms of the old gentleman's will, John Dashwood's first plan of a thousand pounds for each sister and Fanny's argument in chapter 2, the sisters' ages and character sketches, Sir John Middleton's offer, Barton Cottage about four miles north of Exeter and near Barton Park, Sir John's home, Sir John and Lady Middleton as first described) https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/161