Jane Austen’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’ endures as rom-com

Much like the comfort found in a Jeffrey Archer novel, there is a lasting appeal in inhabiting Jane Austen’s world of bonnets and manners — a world where despite wicked people and heartache, things usually come right in the end.

That enduring comfort is at the heart of Sense and Sensibility, Austen’s first novel, published in 1811. More than two centuries after its publication, the novel continues to be re-read through new lenses.

Scholars have viewed it as a book of good conduct, a feminist critique of patriarchy, and more recently, an early example of eco-criticism.

For modern readers, it remains at its core a swoon-worthy romantic comedy. The novel follows the Dashwood sisters as they navigate love, loss, and societal expectation — a story that still resonates in the 21st century.