Who was the publisher of Jane Austen's first novel, 'Sense and Sensibility'?

Thomas Egerton was the publisher of Jane Austen’s first novel, Sense and Sensibility.

The novel appeared in 1811 under the anonymous attribution “By a Lady.” Egerton, associated with the Military Library in Whitehall, London, accepted Austen’s manuscript and issued it in three volumes. Austen paid the publication costs herself and agreed that Egerton would receive a commission on sales.

Sense and Sensibility had originally been developed under the working title Elinor and Marianne. Its story follows the Dashwood sisters as they navigate love, money, inheritance, and the contrasting qualities suggested by the final title. The first edition sold 750 copies by July 1813, giving Austen a profit of about £140.

A common mix-up is confusing Egerton with John Murray, who published several later Austen works, including Persuasion and Emma after Austen’s death. Thomas Egerton also published Austen’s next novel, Pride and Prejudice, in 1813.