★ 本書錄音採用英式發音
★ 英語級數：Intermediate（中級）
《理性與感性》（Sense and Sensibility, 1811），是英國女性文學家珍．奧斯汀（Jane Austen, 1775–1817）出版的第一本小說，當時作者才芳齡19。這是一部成功的作品，銷售極佳，使得作者能夠在兩年後繼續出版第二本小說《傲慢與偏見》。
在當時，對「感性」的定義，意味著過於情緒化與浪漫。這本小說出版之際，浪漫主義在藝術、音樂和文學上正大行其道。在浪漫主義中，相較於責任與理智，感覺與情感更為重要。作者則在《理性與感性》一書中傳達浪漫主義的危險性，不過她並非完全反對浪漫主義，相反地，她想要表達的是我們需要在「理性」與「感性」之間取得平衡。
《理性與感性》這部小說講的是一對個性迥異的姊妹，她們分別愛上兩個差異極大的男人的故事。姊姊代表理性，妹妹代表感性。姊姊愛蓮娜愛上良善又通情達理的愛德華；妹妹瑪麗安愛上俊美浪漫的威洛比，那是一個完全符合她所渴望的男人。整部小說圍繞著兩人的愛情故事而展開。
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Sense and Sensibility was Jane Austen’s first novel to be published. At that time, sensibility had a different meaning than it does today: it meant over-emotional and romantic. When the book was written Romanticism was becoming popular in art, music and literature. In Romanticism, feelings and emotions are more important than duty and common sense. Jane Austen tries to show the dangers of Romanticism in Sense and Sensibility. However, she is not completely against it. Instead, she seems to say, we need to find a balance between “sense” and “sensibility”.
Sense and Sensibility is the story of two very different sisters who meet and fall in love with two very different men. Elinor is the elder sister and she represents sense. Marianne is the younger sister and she represents sensibility. Elinor falls in love with Edward, who is kind and a man of sense. Marianne falls in love with Willoughby who is handsome and romantic and everything she ever hoped a man to be.
Jane Austen had first written Sense and Sensibility in 1795 when she was nineteen years old. It was written as a series of letters and it was called Elinor and Marianne. Over the years, she made several changes to it before it was finally published in 1811. Jane Austen was then thirty-five years old and she died six years later.
Sense and Sensibility was successful and sold well so the publisher was very happy to publish Jane’s next book, Pride and Prejudice in 1813.