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.

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.

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.

A smug but goodhearted society girl learns her judgment isn't as incisive as she thinks it is. "Emma" is a fun, lighthearted version of Jane Austen, with enough misunderstandings and crossed signals to form the basis of a modern sitcom. For all its pleasant enjoyability, however, the novel is also a fascinating character study of one woman being elevated to a nobler level by being taken down several notches.

In this respect, "Emma" is a prime example of the fact that although many see Jane Austen as something of a proto-feminist, she often gave her male characters the most admirable constitutions of her entire cast. Although the female Emma may be the heroine we hope will triumph, the male Mr. Knightley (like Colonel Brandon of "Sense and Sensibility") is the unimpeachably noble person, and the one who helps Emma ascend to a higher plane of virtue when she might otherwise have been left in despair at her failures. In the end, Austen's fourth novel (and the last published during her lifetime) is not a feminist manifesto. Rather, it transcends the gender wars and remains a touching comedy of errors with a profoundly subtle commentary on human pride and folly.

It was a good book, but older writing styles are hard for me to get used to. I liked the characters, but the movie ruined it for me. ALWAYS read the book before you see the movie.

I had already read this Jane Austen classic twice. I decided to buy a copy of my own so that when I want to read it again, I will have a copy here at home. This is one of my favorites.

I purchased 10 of these for my reading club.
They were delighted with the attactive, light
weight book, and the great price!

I'm writing in reference to the Kindle version of this book. Since I like the book itself, I gave 2 stars; however, this version was lacking in extras. I was seriously disappointed to find no footnotes, no introduction, no nothing. Just the book pure and simple. To top it off, there were many instances of multiple words jammedtogetherlikethis. I wish the 'sample' had been available when I ordered it from my Kindle. I certainly would have chosen another one of the available editions.

The title character of "Emma" is unique among the heroines of Jane Austen's novels. She is "handsome, clever, and rich" and, for most of the novel, not actively seeking a husband. The grim economic realities that made finding the right husband so important for Lizzie Bennet and her counterparts in the other novels does not apply. The young and inexperienced Emma can therefore be allowed to be foolish in her social forays, even to fail, without impairing the audience's ability to enjoy the resulting romantic comedy.

Emma lives at the estate of Hartfield with her doting but hypochondriac father. Their status as the leading family of Highbury is unquestioned. The recent marriage of Emma's governess to a close neighbor prompts Emma to wish to arrange suitable matches for her other friends and neighbors. Her immediate target is Harriet Smith, an amiable young woman of uncertain social status. Against the advice of Emma's brother-in-law and confidant Mr. Knightley, Emma persuades Miss Smith to refuse an offer of marriage from a Mr. Martin, a upright hardworking farmer of no social distinction. Emma then tries to match Harriet up with the ambitious young vicar of Highbury, Mr. Elton. This scheme fails, hilariously, when Mr. Elton proposes instead to a horrified Emma.

Mr. Elton soon brings a new Mrs. Elton to the village, a vulgar social upstart who presumes to arrange the social life of Highbury. Among her targets is young Jane Fairfax, once the paid companion of a gentlewoman, now forced to make her own way. The arrival of the charming and handsome Frank Churchill creates additional complications. Emma, after getting over her own initial infatuation, presses a match between Frank and Miss Smith. She is also provoked by Frank into passing rumors about Jane Fairfax and the husband of the woman she formerly accompanied. The climax of the story may be an unfortunate picnic at Box Hill, where everyone seems out of sorts. Emma thoughtlessly insults the silly but harmless Miss Bates, for which she is very properly upbraided by Mr. Knightley. Emma then learns, in rapid succession, that Frank has been engaged to Jane Fairfax all along and that Harriet believes she has gained the affection of Mr. Knightley. Emma is mortified to have misjudged both Frank and Jane, and to have inadvertantly pushed Harriet towards a man she now realizes she loves herself.

Emma must take responsibility for her mistakes and make good her relationships with Miss Bates, Jane Fairfax, and Harriet Smith. Her fear of losing Mr. Knightley leads to a fateful conversation with him in the garden of Hartfield, in which Emma's fear of losing his friendship works at cross-purposes with Mr. Knightley's real agenda.

Austen's subtle and witty exploration of social relationships in "Emma" is both humorous and insightful. "Emma" is the least heroic of Austen's heroines, but her undoubted charm and her very human efforts to mature have endeared her to generations of readers. "Emma" is very highly recommended to fans of Jane Austen's novels as perhaps her most polished romantic comedy.

I actually saw the film (with Paltrow as Emma) before reading the book and I must say, that I am glad that the movie was very true to the novel because I adore the movie. I was actually surprised that the book was so similar. It features one of my favorite Jane Austen characters, Emma of course. She is a joy to read about. The dialogue was easy to follow and it was a quick but fun read.

In a letter to a relative Austen once wrote "3 or 4 families in a country village is the very thing to work on "She knew this world intimately and well and it was the subject of her best novels of which Emma most assuredly is one .
Emma Woodhouse is young,lively and thoroughly spolied .She is complacently sure she knows what is best for all her friends and acquaintances ,especially in matters of the heart .She is a self-appoinited matchmaker to all her friends and she particularly interests herself in the affairs of the young and naive Harriet Smith,an unassertive and timid young woman .Emma is convinced Harriet would be ideally matched with the local minister Mr Elton not knowing that he despises Harriet for her lack of social graces and standing and that he is set on wooing and winning Emma herself .Emma is idly contemplating a dalliance with a newcomer to the village ,Frank Churchill ,but her real feelings are for the local squire George Knightley .Knightley is an amused and exasperated spectator to the meddling which is second nature to Emma.
The novel deals with the way Emma's plans for others collapse and she as a consequence comes to a new and painful degree of self-awareness.She knows less about herself and others than she fondly imagines .The book is a very tough-minded piece of work and has universal themes to do with human motivations and self-deception.It shows the manipulations and strategems of the marriage market as supremely important in society .Emma is essentially about growing into self awareness rather than a romantic comedy as so many other Austen novels are .It is why it still retains its impact so many years after its original publication .The support cast is well drawn -Elton,in particular being a great sketch of an odious snake who has somehow been born as human being .
Any society in which people meddle in each others affairs is one in which Emma is still a valid book

Emma is Jane Austen's penultimate novel. It is a long but engaging story of Emma Woodhouse who lives in the fictional village of Highbury 16 miles from London. The novel is in many ways a "bildungsroman" as Emma changes and matures to win her man and a place in literary lovers' hearts.
The major players in this Jane Austen classic are:
Emma Woodhouse-Emma is the spoiled daughter of widower Woodhouse. She loves playing matchmaker to young couples resulting in disastrous results!
Emma is flawed but lovable and good hearted.
Mr. Woodhouse-One of Austen's most hilarious characters. Mr. Woodhouse is a foolish nincimpoop always worried about the temperature and catching a cold. He does not want Emma to marry since he prefers she stay home and take care of his fussbudget needs. He reminds this reviewer of a character who could have fit in well in a Dickens novel.
Mr. Knightley. This wealthy landowner has been in love with Emma since she was 13. One of the charms of this comedy of manners is the conversation he engages in with Emma. He is a wise man and good judge of moral character. Emma foolishly thinks the merchant's daughter Harriet is in love with him. His name says it all for he is a knight in shining armor!
Harriet Smith-Emma seeks to mate her with the odious Rev. Mr. Elton but her plans go awry with he weds the foolish Mrs. Augusta Elton. Harriet is an innocent young lady who wrongly allows Emma to advice her on matters of the heart. She will later wed the mundane farmer Robert Martin.
Frank Churchill; He is the son of Mr. Weston a local landowner. Weston had married Ms. Taylor who had been the maid at Emma's home for 18 years.
Frank is a charmer with a weak character. Emma is briefly infatuated by him but learns his true nature from the faithful Mr. Knightley. He is anything but frank in explaining his past amours to Emma and Harriet.
Jane Fairfax is a lovely lass who has been secretly engaged to Frank Churchill. As the novel ends this pair wed. Jane is lovely but strikes this reviewer has lacking mental strength!
Miss Bates-A minor character who has the gift of gab! She rattles on with
little thought in several of the novel's chapters. I see her as an early form in English fiction of stream of consciousness monologue later mastered by such masters as James Joyce and William Faulkner.
Emma is usually rated alongside "Pride and Prejudice" as one of the two best novels written by Jane Austen. I enjoyed it immensely but note that there is a lot of talking and not much action. Austen liked to take a few country families and discuss a love affair or two in her narrowly focused works. She is the indisputed queen of romance fiction and is as popular today as she was when the book was published in 1816. This fall Masterpiece Theatre will be airing dramatizations of all six novels. We Janeites are a growing army of devoted fans. Jane only wrote 6 books but each is a masterpiece!

Please don't misunderstand me: I love Jane Austen's Emma. I love everything by Jane Austen. What I don't love about this edition of the book is the introduction. Margaret Drabble obviously doen't care for the book, especially the heroine Emma Woodhouse. I have no idea why they would publish such an unfavorable introduction with the novel. Also, if you read the intro but have never read the novel, you're getting the entire plot line, which is only good if you're still in and writting a book report.

But, if you're just looking for a cheap copy of Emma, then by all means, buy this version. Just please don't dampen the wonderful experience of reading Jane Austen by reading the horrible introduction.

Be warned: this book is slow. very slow. i loved pride and prejudice, but i would have quit partway through this one if it hadn't been a gift.

However, if you have the patience and fortitude to get through it, you will be rewarded. Though i could have done without so much detail about the planning of a party, or full chapters of Emma and Mr. Knightley talking things to death, it was an overall good book. Emma is very fully developed. She starts out, not as a good girl with some faults, but as a vain, selfish, silly young woman, and comes out by the end of the book deeply and believably changed.

one thing I particularly enjoyed is that since Emma was always so wrong in her guesses, it was up to the reader to figure out what was really going on, and who was in love with whom. Especially towards the end, I had a lot of fun picking out hints and speculating, and seeing my guesses come out right.

The book isn't so amazing that i would urge everyone to struggle through the whole length of it, but it's a worthwhile and enjoyable read. it just could have been much shortened.