Larger	Sense and Sensibility (Abridged) Author: Abridgement by, Jane Austen, Linda Jennings
	Book Information Publisher: Puffin Classics Book Type: Paperback Rating: 23 ISBN-13: 9780140378504 - ISBN-10: 0140378502 Publication Date: 9/1/1996 Pages: 336 Reading Level: Ages 9-12 Book Reviews

Sparkling with wit and irony, Sense and Sensibility is more than a simple contrast between heart and head; it is a critical exploration of the society that demands of individuals both honesty and duplicity.

When two sisters, Elinor and Marianne, and their mother are left to the financial mercies of John Dashwood and his wife, they find themselves in drastically reduced circumstances.

Unable to find a new home in Sussex, they move to Devon, leaving behind Elinor's admirer Edward Ferrars. Though Elinor is sorrowful, she conceals her feelings of attachment from prying society. Marianne, impulsive and open in her emotions, falls passionately in love with the dashing, roguish John Willoughby. Although they differ widely in temperament, both sisters must face great sorrows in their affairs of the heart--and use their own strengths to overcome them.

Jane Austen (1775-1817) is considered by many scholars to be the first great woman novelist. Her novels revolve around people, not events or coincidences. Miss Austen sets her novels in the upper middle class English country which was her own environment.

Her novels have increased in stature over time. Her skills of writing, including a dry humor and a witty elegance of expression have attracted generations to her work.

Miss Austen completed six novels and part of a seventh, "Sense and Sensibility", "Pride and Prejudice", "Mansfield Park", "Emma", "Northanger Abbey", "Persuasion" and the partial "Lady Susan". Quiet Vision publishes all seven.