Sense and sensibility

Is love a matter of the head or the heart? Money and marriage are the two subjects of this first Jane Austen novel.

For Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, it is a time of great change: their father has just died and the heir to the estate where they live, the son of their father's first marriage, leaves them with little to support themselves. For good reason, Elinor helps her mother find a new home they can afford on the other side of England, in Devon. It's a change of scenery, but also an opportunity to make new connections.

Marianne, whose romanticism and vivacity charm the secretive Colonel Brandon, soon falls deeply in love with the impetuous young John Willoughby, whom she meets in very romantic circumstances. Elinor, whose dispositions are more cautious and measured, carefully conceals the depth of her feelings for Edward Ferrars, her unpleasant sister-in-law's older brother, whom she met at Norland, and who lives in London with his mother.

Both of them then face disappointments and betrayals. Their shared qualities, however - discernment, steadfastness and integrity in the face of the evil intentions of others - their deep affection for each other and Elinor's strength of character will enable them to face the trials that lie ahead.

In a vain society where all relationships seem to revolve around money, rents and dowries, the Dashwood sisters offer a freshness and spontaneity that contrasts with the dryness and materialism of most of their contemporaries.