First published in 1816, Emma is generally regarded as Jane Austen’s most technically brilliant and comic work. An heiress who is determined not to marry ends up falling in love. Emma Woodhouse is a snob, a meddler, and spoilt; but she is also clever, funny, generous, and compassionate. As in all of Jane Austen’s works, the simple theme of courtship belies the complexity of her vision of human nature.
The Editor: Both volumes of Austen are edited by Professor H. M. Daleski.
