Customer Reviews

Mrs. Goddard, mistress of a school

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This is the same book as "A Visit to Highbury: Another view of Emma," just a different title. This is the earlier edition.

This book is the story of Jane Austen's "Emma" through the eyes of Mrs. Goddard Mistress of the school. It is not a sequel or prequel. It is a retelling of the original story. In Jane Austen's Emma, Mrs. Goddard is a very minor character that has no lines at all. This lovely novel shows more about her, her life, and how the surrounding events of Highbury effect her and she effect them.

The book is written by an exchange of letters from Mrs. Goddard and her sister whom she has not seen in 17 years! Mrs. Goddard and her sister, Mrs. Pinkney are as different as night and day yet share such a strong sisterly bond (as do a lot of other characters in Jane Austen's novels). Mrs. Pinkney has just remarried a man she was not in love with and is very bored, so she thrives on the gossip her sister tells her about Highbury. You would be surprised how much a mistress of a school can know!

I enjoyed this book emensely and recommend it to anyone with a love of Highbury and the characters of Emma. I also would recommend the sequel to this book "Later Days at Highbury." No it doesn't contain a lot of the same characters as Emma but that is because the story broadens and new characters are added. Still equally delightful!