Emma, Vol. 8 [Paperback]

Kaoru Mori (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 2009

The critically acclaimed series resumes with a collection of short stories focusing on the lives of several supporting characters. A young Mrs. Stowner and her husband both secretly try to save up money to visit England's Great Exhibition. Eleanor Campbell spends a day at the beach trying to get over William, with surprising results. Experience a new insight into Emma's Victorian world!

Product Details

• Paperback: 208 pages
• Publisher: CMX (March 17, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1401220703
• ISBN-13: 978-1401220709
• Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.6 x 7.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #950,536 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars More stories from the Emmaverse, March 22, 2009

By 

forest fairy - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emma, Vol. 8 (Paperback)

Though the main storyline ended with volume 7, Emma's fans will surely treasure another chance to return to her world. This time, Mori-sensei presents us with short stories about several side characters. The readers will be able to find out a little more about the lives of Kelly Stownar and her husband Doug, how Eleanor Campbell tries to get over her disastrous engagement to William and what Tasha's family is like.

However, my favorite piece in this volume is the chapter that glances at several brief episodes of London life, all of them in some way connected to the Times newspaper. The pages switch from one scene to another fast, just like the short articles and personal ads in the paper itself and we jump from one topic to the next. Children in poverty, relations between middle class families and their former servants and a bit about Violet, the former mistress of Viscount Campbell, are linked together by images of how the Times is made, distributed, read and finally used for cleaning or serving fish and chips.

The artwork is just as beautiful as it was in the previous volumes; in fact, it seems as if the backgrounds have gotten even more detailed and vibrant, if that's even possible. I am looking forward to the release of volume 9 this summer.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Bonus stories from Emma's world., August 31, 2010

By 

Rachel E. Gray "Reg" (San Francisco, CA United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Emma, Vol. 8 (Paperback)

This volume is several short stories in the Emma-universe. However, none of these stories involve Emma or William, since their story was concluded in Emma: Volume 7.

The first story, about Ms. Stowner and her husband as a young couple, was a delight to read. It was great to see her as a young woman and to see what her life (like the lives of others in the Victorian age) was like, as well as to see how much she and Douglas loved each other.

The second story was about Eleanor after the events of Emma: Volume 7. I can't say that I cared much, as I found her character not very likable, but it was still good to get to see her dealing with the issue.

The third story was a wonderful story of Victorian times, showing the uses and values--and lifespan--of the newspaper in that culture. The characters were not from any previous Emma volumes, but we got to know them in brief glimpses of their lives. I think this would be an excellent (if short) story all on its own.

The final story was about Tasha, Emma's roommate and fellow maid in the Meredith household, and her family and her dreams. It's another nice story that was fun to read.

5.0 out of 5 stars Back stories on the characters from Emma, May 31, 2010

By 

Gagewyn (United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Emma, Vol. 8 (Paperback)

The Emma series is one of the best anime series I have read in a while, and worth reading through. It is a romance set in 1850s England. I don't like romances, but I liked this series.

This book isn't part of the Emma series, and instead is a series of self-contained stories about the characters in the Emma series. All are set around 1850's London. Illustrations are well done and capture the settings well.

The series was driven by recurring and well-developed characters, so there is a danger that short stories about those characters might involve inside jokes or references and not stand alone well. I don't think that is the case here, and I think a person could read and enjoy this and not miss anything from not having read the entire series first.

Now for a bit on the stories:

The Dream of the Crystal Palace - A young couple lives together. The husband gets really interested in visiting the Crystal Palace, and takes a second job at night to save up the money for admission. The wife seems against frivolous purchases until they have more money, but also likes her husband.

Brighton By the Sea - Young noble woman Eleanor has just been dumped by her fiancee, and sent away to the beach for mood and to avoid scandal. She's embarassed and a little depressed, but coincidentally meets a new crush at the beach and begins to move on.

The Times - I found this the least linear and most difficult to follow of the stories. Cuts to newspapers break scenes from daily life at all levels of London society. The story follows a scene and the characters in it for a few moments in their day, and the characters interact in some way with a newspaper.

With Family - Tasha, a maid who works for a German family in the country side near London, goes home to visit her family. Each family member has moved on in some way, and Tasha begins to feel out of place. This story is the most connected to the Emma series, and much weaker without the backstory of Tasha and Emma having worked and roomed together in the series.

If you liked the Emma series, then this is a good solid read, but not part of the series, and paced a little differently. If you haven't read the Emma series, then I recommend that, because it's good. This series of stories is also good. I think it's worthwhile to go straight to the series, since I enjoyed that more, and some of the Emma series, especially in the first half of the series stand alone well. The short stories in this book are better for someone who is looking for more of the same or who for some reason is looking for a self contained book.