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Emma (Summer Classics)
I just reread this treasure for my book club. I first read it when I was about seventeen, and I loved it as much this time as I did then. It is truly a joy to read such wonderful writing and be so sweetly entertained.The character of Emma is so fully realized and believable. Her ineptness as a matchmaker simply adds to her appeal, and makes you love her even more for her shortcomings. And the inevitable romance that finally comes to be near the end of the novel is so completely rewarding, that you will be smiling broadly as you read the last few pages.Of Austen's novels, I've only read Emma and Pride and Prejudice. After completing Emma for the second time, I'm eager to pick up her other books and lose myself in her enchanting narrative.
Emma (Summer Classics)
At age 13, I found the language challenging, but today at 17 I find it delightful. Nothing agrees with me more than rereading my now favorite book. Though the language is challenging for a young or first time Jane Austin reader it is well worth wading through the odd words and strange grammer to see into the heart of the story.The story touches so close to my heart it is a pleasure to read and dream of that someday romance with me in the place of any one of Austin's ladies. Now if I can find a man as gentlemanly, handsome and kind as Mr. Kingley.
Emma (Summer Classics)
Emma Woodhouse, "handsome, clever, and rich," is the 21-year-old daughter of the elderly owner of Hartfield, the largest estate in Highbury. Though only a couple of hours away from London by carriage, Highbury regards itself as an isolated and virtually self-contained community, with the Woodhouse family the center of social life and at the top of its social ladder.Emma, doting on her hypochondriac father, whom she represents to the outside world, has grown up without a mother's softening influence, and at twenty-one, she is bright, willful, and not a little spoiled. Having too little to do to keep out of trouble, Emma's hobby is matchmaking, "the greatest amusement in the world." Unfortunately, her sophistication in the social graces does not extend to much insight into human beings.Taking Harriet Smith, a young woman of "questionable birth" under her wing, Emma makes Harriet her "project," educating her in the social graces, convincing Harriet not to marry farmer Robert Martin, who has courted her, and ultimately persuading Harriet, wrongly, that the vicar, Mr. Elton, is falling in love with her.Bored and without a large circle of "suitable" friends, Emma is an incorrigible meddler, playing with the lives of those around her, snubbing those she considers inferior, gossiping about others in an attempt to divert attention to herself, and misreading intentions. Only Mr. Knightly, sixteen years older than Emma and a friend of her father, stands up to Emma and tells her what he thinks of her behavior, and it is through him that she eventually begins to grow.Love and the formal protocol or marriage are a major focus here, with marriage more often a merger of "appropriate" families than the result of romance or passion. Class distinctions, acknowledged by all levels of society, limit both personal friendships and romantic possibilities, and as Emma's matchmaking fails again and again, causing grief to many of her victims, Emma begins to recognize that her pride, willfulness, and love of power over others have made her oblivious to her own faults.Austen shines in her depiction of Emma and her upperclass friends, gently satirizing their weaknesses but leaving room for them to learn from their mistakes-if only they can learn to recognize the ironies in their lives. Though Emma may be, in some ways, Austen's least charming heroine, she is certainly vibrant and, with her annoying faults, a most realistic one. Mary Whipple
Emma (Summer Classics)
I love reading romance novels from 18th century and Emma kept me glued to my kindle. It is a long book, but worth every page.
Emma (Summer Classics)
Just to note: This review is of the Almost Sunday Publishing kindle edition.If you are like me, you want to buy books at the cheapest price you can get, while still getting good quality. Good news! The kindle version of this book is flawless as far as I can tell. It is simply the text, with chapters that you can jump to. There are NO annoying pictures among the text at all.The story itself is VERY good, and easy to read even though it was written over 200 years ago. I found it very amusing to read Emma's antics, and I could definitely relate to her and the other characters. For more on the plot, you can easy look at the other versions.The bottom-line is if you are looking for Austen for a low price, this one is the way to go!
Emma (Summer Classics)
Out of all Jane Austen's heroines, Emma Woodhouse is perhaps the most unique and the most beloved. Unlike all the others, Emma is a wealthy young woman who does not have the pressure of making a good marriage to ensure her happiness and in fact is determined never to wed. Likewise, due to the affections of her father and governess, Emma has been indulged and encouraged all her life into behaving just as she pleases, and as one of the few members of nobility in the small county of Highbury she is a big fish in a very small pond. Due to this, she considers herself superior to others and confident of her own perception of things: to put it simply, she is a snob. Yet she is not dislikeable - she is loving, well-mannered and kind, and deep down she realises that many of her actions are folly - it just takes her a while to get to these conclusions.Crediting herself for the recent marriage of her governess to the estimable Mr Weston, Emma takes it upon herself to play matchmaker for Highbury's society. Her eye is fixed on the eligible clergyman Mr Elton as an excellent match for her new friend Harriet Smith, a girl of obscure birth and minimal wealth. Despite the cynicism of Mr Knightley, an old family friend and the caution of her dear Mrs Weston, Emma is too wrapped up in her own opinions of how human hearts work to heed their advice...Further irony is found in the fact that whilst Emma is busy organising the hearts and minds of those around her, she has utterly no regard for her own and finds on many occasions that her perceptions of people were completely mistaken. But this is where readers' affection for her lies: she is beloved *for* her faults, not in spite of them, and such imperfections make her a rich, understandable character. Furthermore, these faults give her room to grow and improve as a person, and she is not the same Emma at the end of the book as she was at the beginning."Emma" is also filled with many memorable supporting characters, very few of which are painted in black and white terms - rather they are small portraits of true human life, each with their own good and bad attributes. There is the talkative Miss Bates and her niece Miss Jane Fairfax (who Emma is cool toward due to the fact she detracts attention away from herself), the pretentious Eltons, Emma's sister and brother-in-law, and the and the dashing Frank Churchill, (Mr Weston's son) on whom rest many hopes by his family of an alliance with Miss Woodhouse.Austen writes in beautifully delicate language, which is filled with many of her best moments of wit and insight into the human condition, especially in her themes of social hierarchy and acceptable forms of manners. It is a common belief that authors of the past are hardly ever critical of their own times or station - Austen gloriously proves these narrow-minded people wrong as she weaves together her characters and their various ways of life with commentary on them all. Like all such reads, it's not for a lazy reader as it needs your constant attention and care. But like all truly good literature, it is well worth the effort and considered the best novel in the Jane Austen canon.