Jane Austen's Novels: Success after DeathChuck Leddy, a notable critic, said: "When she died in 1817, the English novelist Jane Austen was completely unknown in the literary world. Why wouldn't someone as brilliant as Jane Austen be known around the world? By 1817, Austen had already published one of her masterpieces, Sense and Sensibility, and it did not seem to bring her as much success until later in her life. But the dry spell would eventually end. Two hundred years after Jane Austen's death, her books attracted much attention (Leddy). Although Sense and Sensibility, Pride and Prejudice, Mansfield Park, and Emma were not widely known in the early 1800s, Jane Austen's novels gained popularity after Jane Austen's death. Jane Austen began the novel Sense and Sensibility in 1797. The original title was Elinor and Marianne, named after the two main characters. The title was changed to Sense and Sensibility and it was completed in eighteen eleven. “The novel contrasts the temperaments of two sisters” (Byer 378). Elinor represents sense and Marianne represents sensitivity. The novel is about two sisters who must choose between the thin paths of meaning, defined as sense, of meaning, and of sensibility, defined as delicacy of feeling (Webster 314). Elinor fills her life with meaning, to some extent, and less with feeling like her sister (Byer 378). The man Elinor falls for has other affairs with another woman (Byer 378). Elinor remains intelligent despite her lover's deception (Byer 378). Things happen between Elinor's guy and his mistress, and the other woman packs up and leaves (Byers 378). Although Elinor represents sense, she leans toward sensibility and takes up the cheater (Byer...... middle of paper......ips (Leddy). Her novels were not appreciated in her time, as she had to advance for mediocre readers. Jane Austen has excellent novels and they influence everything, books, films, television, etc. Her books continue to inspireBloom, Harold, ed. Chelsea House Publishers. : np, 1986. .Kroeber, Karl. “Jane Austen Critisim,” Web. 2011. “Pride.” Webster Dictionary. 2011. Web. February 21, 2011. “Sensibility Webster.” Southham, BC, ed., 1968..