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Aeneas Press edition Romantic First published 1811

Sense and Sensibility

by Jane Austen 1775–1817

The book, and the century it came out of.

Elinor governs every feeling; Marianne refuses to govern any. Left with a small income and no prospects, the sisters move through a society in which money settles who may marry whom and manners exist to conceal intent. Austen’s first published novel counts the cost of self-command and the cost of its absence, and does not say which is dearer. In this Gilded Library volume the text sits among paintings — drawing rooms, country estates, rain-swept walks — beside roses, folded letters and silk ribbon in the decoration. Illustrated with 60 full-page plates — paintings by Dall, Barret and Sr. among them.

With the title of Sense and Sensibility is connected one of those minor problems which delight the cummin-splitters[3] of criticism.
The first sentence of Sense and Sensibility
A note on this edition

Sense and Sensibility, by Jane Austen, complete and unabridged. Spelling and punctuation follow present-day American usage; the sentences, the paragraphs and the voice are the author’s, word for word.

It was written in another era and may carry attitudes a reader today will find dated. They are kept for the sake of the work and do not reflect the views of this house.

The edition
Format
Ebook
Extent
about 368 pages
Reading time
about 7 hours
Illustrations
Full-page plates, credited
Text
Complete, unabridged
Language
en
This edition
2026
ISBN
9785501007130
The plates

60 paintings are bound into this edition

Six of them are shown here, taken from the volume itself. Each is reproduced full page and named with its painter and year.

Oakedge Hall, Colwich, Nicholas Thomas Dall
Oakedge Hall, Colwich Nicholas Thomas Dall 1775
‘The Pretty Ballad Singer’, Henry Robert Morland
‘The Pretty Ballad Singer’ Henry Robert Morland 1773
Pomeranian Bitch and Puppy, Thomas Gainsborough
Pomeranian Bitch and Puppy Thomas Gainsborough 1777
River landscape at moonlight, Jean François de Wouters
River landscape at moonlight Jean François de Wouters 1775
Marie Antoinette playing the harp at the French Court, Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty
Marie Antoinette playing the harp at the French Court Jean-Baptiste André Gautier-Dagoty 1775
The foolish young man, Nicolaes Muys
The foolish young man Nicolaes Muys 1777
Afterwards

This book in culture: 6 versions

Most people meet a book like this one on a screen first. Here is what was made of it — and none of these is the book.

The whole afterlife of Sense and Sensibility — screen, stage and beyond →

  • 1996 Sense and Sensibility Ang Lee
  • 2000 Kandukondain Kandukondain Rajiv Menon
  • 2008 Sense and Sensibility John Alexander miniseries
  • 2011 From Prada to Nada Angel Gracia
  • Sense and Sensibility TV program
  • Sense and Sensibility Rodney Bennett TV series
The setting

A page from this edition

Not a mock-up: this page is taken from the finished volume. The ornament above the chapter belongs to its shelf and to no other, the opening letter is set as a drop capital, and the plate below carries the name of the painter and the year.

A page of Sense and Sensibility as set for this edition
The opening of a chapter
A page of Sense and Sensibility as set for this edition
A page where a plate falls

Both photographed from the finished volume.

Colophon

Sense and Sensibility, first published 1811, issued in this edition by Aeneas Press in 2026 on the The Gilded Library shelf. Newly set, with the ornament of its series above each chapter and a drop capital on the opening page. Illustrated with full-page plates, each named with its painter.

Published as an ebook and not issued in print by this house; it carries one ISBN, 9785501007130, and is supplied worldwide. This edition — its setting, its ornament, its cover art, and the selection and attribution of its plates — © 2026 Aeneas Press.

Before you buy

Questions readers ask

Is this the whole of Sense and Sensibility?
Yes — complete and unabridged. Nothing is cut, condensed or paraphrased. This is the book, not a summary of it.
What exactly did you change?
The spelling and the punctuation follow present-day American usage. Jane Austen's sentences are untouched — same words, same order, same rhythm.
Are the pictures really in the book?
Yes. The edition carries full-page plates bound into the text, each one named with its painter and the year it was made. Six of them are shown on this page.
How long is it?
About 368 pages, which is roughly about 7 hours of reading.
What do I actually get?
An illustrated ebook with its own ISBN, sold worldwide. One file, yours to keep, readable on any device.
If this one suits you
Sense and Sensibility
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