Product Description

New chronology and further reading; Tony Tanner's original introduction reinstated

Edited with an introduction and notes by Flora Stafford.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7184 in Books
• Published on: 2003-05-06
• Released on: 2003-05-06
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 512 pages

Amazon.com Review
Of all Jane Austen's heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most flawed, the most infuriating, and, in the end, the most endearing. Pride and Prejudice's Lizzie Bennet has more wit and sparkle; Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey more imagination; and Sense and Sensibility's Elinor Dashwood certainly more sense--but Emma is lovable precisely because she is so imperfect. Austen only completed six novels in her lifetime, of which five feature young women whose chances for making a good marriage depend greatly on financial issues, and whose prospects if they fail are rather grim. Emma is the exception: "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." One may be tempted to wonder what Austen could possibly find to say about so fortunate a character. The answer is, quite a lot.

For Emma, raised to think well of herself, has such a high opinion of her own worth that it blinds her to the opinions of others. The story revolves around a comedy of errors: Emma befriends Harriet Smith, a young woman of unknown parentage, and attempts to remake her in her own image. Ignoring the gaping difference in their respective fortunes and stations in life, Emma convinces herself and her friend that Harriet should look as high as Emma herself might for a husband--and she zeroes in on an ambitious vicar as the perfect match. At the same time, she reads too much into a flirtation with Frank Churchill, the newly arrived son of family friends, and thoughtlessly starts a rumor about poor but beautiful Jane Fairfax, the beloved niece of two genteelly impoverished elderly ladies in the village. As Emma's fantastically misguided schemes threaten to surge out of control, the voice of reason is provided by Mr. Knightly, the Woodhouse's longtime friend and neighbor. Though Austen herself described Emma as "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like," she endowed her creation with enough charm to see her through her most egregious behavior, and the saving grace of being able to learn from her mistakes. By the end of the novel Harriet, Frank, and Jane are all properly accounted for, Emma is wiser (though certainly not sadder), and the reader has had the satisfaction of enjoying Jane Austen at the height of her powers. --Alix Wilber

From Library Journal
This is another case where a classic is being reprinted simply as a tie-in to a TV/feature film presentation. Libraries, nonetheless, can benefit by picking up a quality hardcover for a nice price.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
First published in 1816, Emma is generally regarded as Jane Austen's most technically brilliant book. But that's not the reason to read it. Read it to see how a scheming heiress who is determined not to marry ends up embracing love and growing in maturity without dying or becoming impossibly insipid, the fate of so many nineteenth-century heroines. As her fourth novel was taking shape, Jane Austen noted "I am going to take a heroine whom no one but myself will much like." She was wrong. It is easy to love Emma Woodhouse. She is a snob, a meddler, and a spoiled child - she is also smart, funny, generous, and compassionate. Determined to control the arrangements of other people's lives, Emma takes on the self-appointed role of matchmaker in a world that grants little public power to women. Small wonder that Emma, who has a "mind lively and at ease," wastes her considerable creative powers dreaming up romantic scenarios that consistently and comically fail all reality checks. As in all of Jane Austen's works, the simple theme of courtship belies the complexity of her vision of human nature and of our need for power. Technical brilliance? Yes. Moral brilliance? Most definitely. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14. -- From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Chris Kellett

Customer Reviews

Emma Woodhouse
Emma complete illustrated novel by Jane Austen

Austen's witty exploration of social relationships in "Emma" is both humorous and insightful. An enjoyable read for everyone.

Romantic Mystery
Like most of Jane Austen's novels, the theme is around young women and how to obtain marriages with suitable men and be in love with them at the same time. In Emma, we have a heroine who not just sits around and speculates on who would pair up with who, but actively strives to influence and guide the matchmaking. She takes on a protege, Harriet Smith, a young woman of unknown parentage and sees into every interaction with the various gentlemen, more than is actually there. Unfortunately for poor Harriet, whose emotions get tangled around various men "who are all above her socially", Emma learns that manipulation and scheming is doing more to hurt her dear friend than to have left things alone.

The reason I read this book as a mystery, is that the reader is left to speculate (without peeking) which man would pair up with which lady. There are red herrings, where the characters other than Emma, misspeculate, to lead the reader into examining the clues to see if it were the case. Also, one of the male characters purposely set out to mislead where his affections are placed, and there is also a misunderstanding between Emma and Harriet on which gentleman she admires, with Emma giving encouragement because of mistaken identity.

The scheming finally crashes to a sequence of revelations brought about by a sequence of events. One after another, the couples pair off with a sequence of marriages, assuring the reader that the correct matches were made and happiness for the future guaranteed. Even though the middle of the book is very slow, the reader can go back and look at the clues and events after knowing the ending to see where inclinations rested and secrets lay buried.

A Good Start To My Austen Book Craze
I have always loved Emma the movie, the one with Gwyneth Paltrow in it. Her Emma is so clueless, so innocent, yet somehow loveable. I finally decided to pick up the classic novel to see if the movie missed anything and to get the full story straight from the author. The book delighted me just as much as the movie did, as I am pleased to say.
Emma Woodhouse is a young, rich woman living with her germaphobe father in the town of Highbury. Bored and eager for some sort of excitement, she decides to matchmake her new friend Harriet Smith with the local vicar Mr.Elton. Emma is convinced that her matchmaking skills are among the best, wrongly taking credit for pairing her governess Miss Taylor with their neighbor Mr.Weston. Many mishaps occur, and many hearts broken and confused, but in the end all is well, with all three of the main couples finding happiness.
It took me a little while to get in the vocabulary of the time, but once I did the book breezed by. Emma is so flawed like all of us; that is why we love her. Just because this book was written almost 200 years ago doesn't make it bad: it makes it better.