Though written in 1811, Jane Austen's classic tale of two tempermentally opposed sisters is a thoroughly modern novel. Elinor, the practical embodiment of sense, yearns for a man who has already promised himself to another. The exquisitely pretty Marianne, a free-spirited musician and writer, loses her heart--and sensibility--to the young scoundrel Willoughby. For these two sisters, true love can only flourish when Elinor's sense stops conflicting with Marianne's sensibility, and vice-versa. Somewhere between conventional morality and irresponsible whimsy lies the road to happiness for each.Jane Austen has few peers as an observer of human nature. Her insights into the moral contradictions of 19th century provincialism ring as true today as they did a century and a half ago.