Jane Austen

Sense and Sensibility: a classics illustrated edition Jane Austen

Marianne Dashwood wears her heart on her sleeve, and when she falls in love with the dashing but unsuitable John Willoughby she ignores her sister Elinor's warning that her impulsive behaviour leaves her open to gossip and innuendo. Meanwhile Elinor, always sensitive to social convention, is struggling to conceal her own romantic disappointment, even from those closest to her. Through their parallel experience of love - and its threatened loss - the sisters learn that sense must mix with sensibility if they are to find personal happiness in a society where status and money govern the rules of love.
When Henry Dashwood dies, he leaves his entire fortune and his home, Norland Park, to his son John. John promises that he will provide for his stepmother, Mary Dashwood, and half-sisters Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret. However, John's wife, Fanny, convinces him to give the family a smaller inheritance than he had intended. Left with only this small income, Mrs. Dashwood and her daughters decide to leave Norland immediately