Hello friends!
If you’ve been following me on social media, you may have seen that I recently launched my own publishing company, Highbury Park Press, along with our fiction imprint, Box Hill Books. One of the things I’m especially excited about with Box Hill Books is the opportunity to publish both Austenesque fiction and accessible editions of the classic novels that inspired so many of the stories we know and love today.
Last summer, we released our very first Box Hill Classics title: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Our edition pairs Austen’s original novel with a host of supplemental material designed to make the book—and the world surrounding it—a little more approachable for modern readers.
And, in case you missed it, our edition of Pride and Prejudice is now available as an audiobook, too! The Box Hill Classics audiobook, narrated by the phenomenal Stevie Zimmerman, recently released on Audible. 🎧
But today, I’m delighted to share another exciting milestone: our second Box Hill Classics edition is officially here! 🎉
This time, we’re returning to Jane Austen with her first published novel, Sense and Sensibility.
Much like our edition of Pride and Prejudice, the Box Hill Classics edition of Sense and Sensibility features Austen’s original 1811 text, with only slight updates to spelling and punctuation for readability. The novel itself remains Austen’s—our goal is simply to make the reading experience feel a little more welcoming to today’s readers.
Alongside the complete novel, we’ve also included the same kinds of supplemental features readers will find in all of our classics:
- A character guide and timeline of major events
- Fast facts about the novel and author
- A guide to Regency etiquette and social customs
- An extensive glossary of period-specific terminology
- A book club guide
- …and more!
Whether you’re reading Sense and Sensibility for the first time or returning to the Dashwood sisters after many years, I hope this edition offers a little extra context and insight along the way while still allowing Austen’s wonderful story to take center stage.
Would You Like a Free Review Copy?
To celebrate the release, I’m looking for readers who would be interested in receiving a complimentary copy and sharing an honest review afterward.
Since this is, of course, Jane Austen’s original novel rather than a retelling, I’m particularly interested in reviews of the edition itself—the formatting and presentation, supplemental material, and overall reading experience.
If you’d like to participate, please leave a comment below. I’m happy to offer paperback or ebook copies to U.S. readers and ebook copies to readers worldwide while supplies last. 📚
Early reviews make such a difference in helping a new edition find its readers, so I’m incredibly grateful to anyone willing to take the time to share their thoughts.
And now, to celebrate the release, I thought I’d share a little sneak peek at some of the bonus material included in the book. Below you’ll find our Fast Facts about Sense and Sensibility, with a few interesting tidbits about the novel, its publication, and the world in which Austen wrote it.
I hope you enjoy—and, most of all, I hope you’ll love our new edition of Sense and Sensibility! 🧡
Sense and Sensibility introduced Jane Austen to the reading public more than two centuries ago. These fast facts offer a glimpse into the history and legacy of her first published novel.
✨ The novel originally had a different title. Austen first drafted the story around 1795 under the title Elinor and Marianne. She revised it several times over the years before it became the novel we know today as Sense and Sensibility.
✨ It may originally have been written as a series of letters. According to later family accounts, Elinor and Marianne was written in epistolary form, with the story told through letters between characters.
✨ It was Jane Austen’s first published novel. Although Austen had already written early versions of several novels, Sense and Sensibility was the first to reach the public. It was published in 1811, when Austen was 35.
✨ The novel was published anonymously “By a Lady.” Austen’s name did not appear on the title page of the first edition. Instead, readers were told only that Sense and Sensibility was written “By a Lady,” beginning the anonymous publishing career she maintained throughout her lifetime.
✨ Austen took the financial risk of publishing it herself. Publisher Thomas Egerton issued the novel “on commission,” meaning Austen was responsible for the costs and stood to lose money if the book failed. Her brother Henry helped arrange its publication.
✨ That risk paid off. The first edition—probably between 750 and 1,000 copies—sold out by 1813, earning Austen about £140 in profit.
✨ The first edition came in three volumes. Like many novels of the period, Sense and Sensibility was published as a three-volume set. It sold for 15 shillings in boards, which buyers could have rebound to suit their own tastes.
✨ A second edition appeared just two years later. The success of the first printing led to a second edition in 1813—the same year Pride and Prejudice was published. Austen made a number of small revisions to the text for the new edition.
✨ The Dashwoods’ circumstances had parallels in Austen’s own life. After her father died in 1805, Austen, her sister Cassandra, and their mother faced reduced financial circumstances and relied partly on support from Jane’s brothers—giving Austen firsthand experience of the financial vulnerability faced by women without independent fortunes.
✨ The title reflects the novel’s central contrast. “Sense” suggested reason and good judgment, while “sensibility” was associated with heightened emotion and feeling. Elinor and Marianne initially embody these opposing qualities, while the novel explores the importance of balancing the two.
Thanks again for celebrating this book release with me! The novel is currently available on Amazon in Kindle and paperback, so if you’re interested in picking up a copy, you can purchase it HERE. 🙂
And again, if anyone would like a free review copy, please let me know!
All my best,
Jennifer Altman
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