Listen free for 30 days

Listen with offer

  • Sense and Sensibility

  • By: Jane Austen
  • Narrated by: Rosamund Pike
  • Length: 11 hrs and 25 mins
  • 4.7 out of 5 stars (2,103 ratings)
Offer ends May 1st, 2024 11:59PM GMT. Terms and conditions apply.
£7.99/month after 3 months. Renews automatically.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically. See here for eligibility.
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Listen all you want to thousands of included audiobooks, Originals, celeb exclusives, and podcasts.
Access exclusive sales and deals.
Sense and Sensibility cover art

Sense and Sensibility

By: Jane Austen
Narrated by: Rosamund Pike
Get this deal Try for £0.00

Pay £99p/month. After 3 months pay £7.99/month. Renews automatically. See terms for eligibility.

£7.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.

Buy Now for £19.00

Buy Now for £19.00

Pay using card ending in
By completing your purchase, you agree to Audible's Conditions of Use and authorise Audible to charge your designated card or any other card on file. Please see our Privacy Notice, Cookies Notice and Interest-based Ads Notice.

Listeners also enjoyed...

Pride and Prejudice cover art
Northanger Abbey & The History of England and Persuasion & Poems cover art
Pride and Prejudice cover art
Emma [Naxos Edition] cover art
Persuasion cover art
Lady Susan & The Watsons (AmazonClassics Edition) cover art
Sense and Sensibility cover art
Jane Eyre cover art
Mansfield Park cover art
Northanger Abbey cover art
The Jane Austen Collection cover art
The Complete Novels : Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, Emma, Northanger Abbey and Persuasion cover art
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies cover art
Middlemarch cover art
Little Women cover art
Wuthering Heights cover art

Summary

In this Audible Exclusive production, Academy Award® nominee Rosamund Pike (Gone Girl) narrates one of Jane Austen’s most beloved works, Sense and Sensibility. In this timeless tale of misguided romance and heartbreak, two teenage heroines must overcome the pitfalls of Georgian England’s high society in order to achieve the love and happiness they seek. The admiration that Pike has for Austen’s work is shown clearly through this passionate delivery of Austen’s first published novel.

“The more I know of the world, the more am I convinced that I shall never see a man whom I can really love.”

Jane Austen’s first published novel, Sense and Sensibility, tells the classic tale of love and heartbreak in late 18th-century England. The story follows the romantic trials and tribulations of the daughters of the recently widowed Mrs. Dashwood as they encounter, and learn to handle, the emotionally reckless male characters of Georgian society. In order to find happiness, the two teenage heroines (Marianne and Elinor) must each learn to navigate through a life where status and money govern the rules of love.

A true classic of English literature, Sense and Sensibility is written with all the hallmarks of Austen’s style, providing strong female protagonists, great irony and wit, and showcasing her superb talent for character creation and dialogue.

About the Author

Jane Austen is one of the most influential and celebrated novelists in English literature. The daughter of a Hampshire clergyman, she was the seventh of eight children and was, from a young age, an avid reader and writer. After graduating from Oxford, Austen survived typhus and embarked on a literary career seeing her works published anonymously throughout her life.

Best known for Sense and Sensibility (1811), Pride and Prejudice (1813), Mansfield Park (1814), and Emma (1816), her six full-length novels have rarely been out of print and have spawned numerous film, television, and drama adaptations. Rich in satire, romance, and wit, Austen is renowned for her critiques of 18th-century British high society and the role of women within it.

About the Narrator

Rosamund Pike is an acclaimed English actress most recognized for her breakthrough role as a Bond girl in Die Another Day (2002), where she won the Empire Aware for Best Newcomer, and her towering lead performance in Gone Girl (2014), which won her an Empire Award for Best Actress. A graduate of English literature from Oxford University’s Wadham College, Pike began her career in stage productions and television appearances before later transitioning into film. Having often spoken of her admiration for the works of Jane Austen, Pike played Jane Bennett in a 2005 film adaptation of Pride and Prejudice as well as providing narration of this novel for Audible in 2015.

Public Domain (P)2018 Audible, Inc.

Audible Sessions with Rosamund Pike

The Academy Award nominee and star of Gone Girl narrates one of Jane Austen's most beloved works.
0:00

What listeners say about Sense and Sensibility

Average customer ratings
Overall
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,589
  • 4 Stars
    372
  • 3 Stars
    113
  • 2 Stars
    22
  • 1 Stars
    7
Performance
  • 5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,616
  • 4 Stars
    219
  • 3 Stars
    39
  • 2 Stars
    8
  • 1 Stars
    3
Story
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars
  • 5 Stars
    1,348
  • 4 Stars
    357
  • 3 Stars
    132
  • 2 Stars
    28
  • 1 Stars
    10

Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.

Sort by:
Filter by:
  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    4 out of 5 stars

What a great way to hear a classic

Having only ever seen film & tv adaptations of Sense and Sensibility it was a joy to listen to this book with Rosamund Pike giving as splendid a delivery as she has done with Pride and Prejudice.
I really hope there will be more audible narrations by her very soon!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

13 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect reading - funny and dry

Wonderful story of course. The performance was exquisite! Never overstated, lovely timing and a thorough understanding of the language. I enjoyed every minute.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

11 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Classic of sisterly affection, read with grace

A classic of love and sisterly affection read with grace.

I've read Sense and Sensibility more than once, but was tempted into a re-read by the mellifluous timbre of the newest narrator's voice. My favourite audiobook, that I DO listen to regularly is Pride and Prejudice, and I adore the tale of Elinor and Marianne. I'm more an Elinor myself, I like to think.

A story of two sisters and their various paths to contented alliances, the one whose heart and emotions steer the course, the other who is more outwardly restrained and logical. The men in their lives exhibit various traits from doggedly loyal, to accommodating and docile, to passionate and roguish.

As much about the inter-relationship between Elinor and Marianne and how they help each other through trials as it is about their romantic entanglements, we also have interesting secondary female characters - Lucy Steele and Mrs Jennings give us a good pairing of women, who either support or work against their fellow females. Mr and Mrs Dashwood too make a fine comic pair, their words contrasting with their actions icily.

Rosamunde Pike excels at creating the atmosphere and gentility of the Regency setting, and I forgot I was listening to a woman when male characters spoke. Her warm and rich voice evoked both sisters beautifully, their characters conveyed with just a small change in tone and pitch. A pleasure to listen to.

Austen makes a congenial listen, though sometimes wordy, it's wonderful to have someone read her aloud. The humour of what is not said, of what is implied is starkly obvious when spoken.

A well-chosen narrator and a tender and timeless story of disparate personalities supporting each other through the trials of living as young women in a time when underprivileged women had no power or position.

With thanks to Nudge Books for providing a sample Audible copy.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

10 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

My favourite so far

I'm on a mission to read all 7 books. This is my 3rd, and by far my favourite. Sometimes I wish we still thought and talked to each other like this... a whole paragraph just to say no!
Amazing to think this was her first published novel... wow.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Perfect narration to bring a classic to life

Rosamund Pike has the perfect voice to narrate Austen, I steamed through this book far too quickly and have never enjoyed the story more.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

6 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Beautifully narrated

Perfect book to listen to when life is stressful .... very well narrated by Rosamund Pike.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

4 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Wonderful narration made me love this novel

I've always found Sense and Sensibility hard going. I really enjoy the 1995 film with Emma Thompson and Kate Winslet, but when it came to reading the novel I really struggled. Partly it's the fact that the first few chapters are almost entirely without dialogue, unlike Pride and Prejudice with its lively beginning. Or perhaps Marianne seems impossibly silly and Elinor impossibly lecturing. Whatever the case, listening to this audio book revolutionised by opinion. I was able to get inside the head of each character and I thoroughly enjoyed Austen's humour - some scenes, such as Mrs Jennings listening to Elinor and Colonel Brandon and drawing all the wrong conclusions, are hilarious. This was a really satisfying listen and I will definitely revisit it at some point. Can't wait to hear Rosamond Pike's take on the other novels.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

A beautiful story, delightfully read

Sense and Sensibility is often overshadowed by its author's more popular novel, Pride and Prejudice, but this Audible version does much to bring it out into the limelight it deserves. Rosamund Pike's beautiful reading brings out all the charm and eloquence of Austen's writing and her skill in giving each character their own distinctive voice adds to the overall enjoyment of a quite simply delightful story. Simply download and enjoy - you won't regret it.

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars

Really enjoyable, Rosamund Pike's voice lovely!

I love Sense and Sensibility. I've read the book, watched the films and now rounded it all off by listening to it. Rosamund Pike's voice is very suited to the style of book. She whisks you away to be immersed in the story. Truly an enjoyable listen!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Story
    5 out of 5 stars
  • M
  • 22-10-18

Best audiobook narration ever!

Draws you right into the story you thought you knew and brings it to life! Greatest thing to happen to S&S since Emma Thompson's adaptation!

Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.

You voted on this review!

You reported this review!

3 people found this helpful