Which Jane Austen novel begins with the line 'The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex'?

The novel beginning with “The family of Dashwood had long been settled in Sussex” is 'Sense and Sensibility'. The opening introduces the Dashwood family at Norland Park, their long-established estate in Sussex, before inheritance and family pressure force a dramatic change in their circumstances.

Jane Austen quickly establishes the importance of property and inheritance. When Henry Dashwood dies, Norland passes to his son John rather than to Henry’s widow and daughters. John promises to help them, but his wife Fanny gradually convinces him to reduce that support. Mrs. Dashwood, Elinor, Marianne, and Margaret consequently leave Norland for Barton Cottage in Devonshire.

The Sussex opening also provides a useful contrast with the novel’s later settings. Norland represents family history, security, and social position, while Devonshire becomes the place where the sisters confront love, disappointment, illness, and changing ideas about judgment. The novel was Austen’s first published work, appearing anonymously in 1811 with the description “By a Lady.”