Emma (Bantam Classics) (Mass Market Paperback)

by Jane Austen (Author)
Key Phrases: barouche landau, Miss Woodhouse, Miss Fairfax, Miss Bates (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review
Of all Jane Austen's heroines, Emma Woodhouse is the most flawed, the most infuriating, and, in the end, the most endearing. Pride and Prejudice's Lizzie Bennet has more wit and sparkle; Catherine Morland in Northanger Abbey more imagination; and Sense and Sensibility's Elinor Dashwood certainly more sense--but Emma is lovable precisely because she is so imperfect. Austen only completed six novels in her lifetime, of which five feature young women whose chances for making a good marriage depend greatly on financial issues, and whose prospects if they fail are rather grim. Emma is the exception: "Emma Woodhouse, handsome, clever, and rich, with a comfortable home and happy disposition seemed to unite some of the best blessings of existence; and had lived nearly twenty-one years in the world with very little to distress or vex her." One may be tempted to wonder what Austen could possibly find to say about so fortunate a character. The answer is, quite a lot.

For Emma, raised to think well of herself, has such a high opinion of her own worth that it blinds her to the opinions of others. The story revolves around a comedy of errors: Emma befriends Harriet Smith, a young woman of unknown parentage, and attempts to remake her in her own image. Ignoring the gaping difference in their respective fortunes and stations in life, Emma convinces herself and her friend that Harriet should look as high as Emma herself might for a husband--and she zeroes in on an ambitious vicar as the perfect match. At the same time, she reads too much into a flirtation with Frank Churchill, the newly arrived son of family friends, and thoughtlessly starts a rumor about poor but beautiful Jane Fairfax, the beloved niece of two genteelly impoverished elderly ladies in the village. As Emma's fantastically misguided schemes threaten to surge out of control, the voice of reason is provided by Mr. Knightly, the Woodhouse's longtime friend and neighbor. Though Austen herself described Emma as "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like," she endowed her creation with enough charm to see her through her most egregious behavior, and the saving grace of being able to learn from her mistakes. By the end of the novel Harriet, Frank, and Jane are all properly accounted for, Emma is wiser (though certainly not sadder), and the reader has had the satisfaction of enjoying Jane Austen at the height of her powers. --Alix Wilber --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal
This is another case where a classic is being reprinted simply as a tie-in to a TV/feature film presentation. Libraries, nonetheless, can benefit by picking up a quality hardcover for a nice price.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Bantam Classics (January 1, 1984)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0553212737
• ISBN-13: 978-0553212730
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars See all reviews (224 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #285,063 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

53 of 57 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Blind Arrogance and the Dance of Love, May 14, 2004

By	Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Emma (Everyman's Library (Cloth)) (Hardcover)

Like all of her novels, Jane Austen's EMMA is essentially a comedy of manners, a work in which the characters move inside a highly restrictive code of conduct and must walk a fine line between the socially acceptable and unacceptable if they are to survive, much less reach their goals. But at the same time the central character, Emma Woodhouse, is a marked departure. Not only is she a young woman of considerable wealth and social standing, she is, as critics are fond of pointing out, "flawed."

The nature of Emma's flaw is essentially Austen's observation of the great failing of the upper-class: an assumption that what they think and do is inevitably correct. And although Emma is quick-witted, generous, and kind, she suffers the effect of this blind arrogance when she comes to believe that she is gifted as a matchmaker and can order the romantic lives of her circle to suit her own liking. The result is a series of seriocomic entanglements and disasters that touches virtually every one with whom Emma comes into contact.

The story requires considerable exposition, and consequently the action is slow to gather; add to this the fact that Emma herself is so overbearing and self-assured that you frequently want to give her a slap. The result is a novel that many, including Austen fans, will find an uphill read. Even so, Austen is writing very close to the peak of her powers here, and her amazing talent for observation, subtle irony, and flashing wit endow EMMA with tremendous charm and interest. In many respects a remarkable novel, but one that I recommend more to determined Austen fans than to casual readers.

GFT, Amazon Reviewer

36 of 39 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A beautiful story about relationships, June 27, 2000

By	Natalie (USA) - See all my reviews

I definitely recommend this book to first time Jane Austen readers, and especially to young girls, for it is so cute and so amusing. I wish I were "forced" to read this in High School for I would have surely written good papers on it. I can't see how anyone can dislike this classic. Jane Austen's character "Emma" has her faults of course, be she is a true character that is amusing and utterly charming, unlike those characters in Pride and Prejudice and Sense and Sensibility, which by no doubt are wonderful books, but Emma truly has to be my favorite Austen work. It is predictable, even without having seen the movie that was based on this work (that mind some of you was written over 200 years before Alicia Silverstone existed...gosh!) but the predictability of it made it all the more enjoyable, like a sort of mystery in romance. I definitely recommend this book to anyone over the age of 11 or 12. I know I'll make my kids read it some day. It is superb!

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not Quite Pride & Prejudice but Close, March 7, 2000

By	Kat (Davis, California) - See all my reviews

If I could do it over again, I would read Jane Austen's Emma before I read her Pride and Prejudice. Unfortuanately that was not the case. I loved it nonetheless. Emma combines witty humor and a fun cast of characters that makes for very enjoyable reading. It does not read as quickly or as easily as Pride and Prejudice, but it is still great fun!

If you have seen the movie Clueless starring Alicia Silverstone, then you know the basic plot. The 1995 movie was adapted from Jane Austen's novel, which was published in the 1800s. The Miramax version of Emma is done very well and should be viewed after reading the novel, not before. It would make the reading even slower.

Emma Woodhouse is a young woman who is the socialite of her small English town of Highbury. She is beautiful and wealthy and popular; everything that girls nowadays want to be or imagine themselves to be, so she is not terribly hard to relate to. She is not terribly smart but humorously clever and witty.

This novel displays this young woman's journey to self-discovery and love; along the way she humorously meddles in everyone's lives. Her romantic blunders are extremely fun to read about. I recommend this novel to any avid reader, but I should caution you against reading Pride and Prejudice beforehand, but if it is too late, do not hesitate to read it. And even though it may drag a bit, bear with it; the ending is reward itself!

Needless to say Emma will always have a place in my heart and on my bookshelf.