Brief Description
Jane Austen teased readers with the idea of a 'heroine whom no one but myself will much like', but Emma is irresistible. 'Handsome, clever, and rich', Emma is also an 'imaginist', 'on fire with speculation and foresight'. Her matchmaking maps out relationships that Jane Austen ironically tweaks into a clearer perspective.
Learn More about the Book
"Emma," when first published in 1816, was written when Jane Austen was at the height of her powers. In it, we have her two greatest comic creations -- the eccentric Mr. Woodhouse and that quintissential bore, Miss Bates. In it, too, we have her most profound characterization: the witty, imaginative, self-deluded Emma, a heroine the author declared "no one but myself will much like, " but who has been much loved by generations of readers.
On the Back Cover
Austen wrote about the world she inhabited, the English countryside, but was never constrained by her relatively narrow canvas. She endures for modern readers because of her wonderful comic irony and her acute observations of the nuances of social interaction, beautifully rendered in pellucid prose. As Emma Woodhouse attempts to orchestrate the romatic lives of those around her, Austen expertly reveals that she may not be as much in control as she would like to believe. Emma was first published in 1816, the year before Jane Austen died. Austen herself thought that Emma was someone "no one but myself will much like". In spite of Austen's fears, the indomitable Emma Woodhouse continues to win the loyal hearts of each new heneration of readers.
