The first edition of Sense and Sensibility carried the byline “A Lady.”
Jane Austen's debut novel was published anonymously by Thomas Egerton in London on 30 October 1811. Its title page identified the author only as “A Lady,” a conventional form of anonymity that allowed the book to enter the market while concealing Austen's identity. The title page did not use her name, initials, or a description such as “An Authoress.”
The disguise was not unusual for the period, especially for a woman writing fiction. Austen's family and acquaintances knew who had written the novel, but the general reading public did not. Her authorship became more widely known after her death, when her brother Henry Austen published a biographical notice in 1817.
Sense and Sensibility follows Elinor and Marianne Dashwood and explores the tension between restraint and emotional expression. Austen initially worked on an earlier version called Elinor and Marianne. The first edition appeared in three volumes, and all 750 copies reportedly sold by July 1813. Later Austen novels also appeared anonymously, but their title-page formulas differed.