Austen's first published work, portraying the lives of the Dashwood sisters Elinor is as prudent as her sister Marianne is impetuous. Each must learn from the other after they are they are forced by their father's death to leave their home and enter into the contests of polite society. The charms of unsuitable men and the schemes of rival ladies mean that their paths to success are thwart with disappointment but together they attempt to find a way to happiness.  • "The technique of [Jane Austen's novels] is beyond praise... Her mastery of the art she chose, or that chose her, is complete." --Elizabeth Bowen  • "The wit of Jane Austen has for partner the perfection of her taste." --Virginia Woolf Jane Austen  (1775-1817) is the author of  Emma , Mansfield Park , Northanger Abbey , Persuasion ,  Pride and Prejudice , and  Sense and Sensibility . Francesca Segal is the author of The Innocents .