I loved Emma, as I have done with every other novel by Jane Austen. In my opinion she was a genius!
I find her style of writing enjoyable to read; her plots are funny and full of wit. She uses irony to ridicule the upper classes of her time and also paint a vivid picture for how the women of that class led their lives.
Emma Woodhouse is a financially secure woman who remarkably is in a state of power in her household. This gives her the option to ‘never marry.’ However, Jane Fairfax is not so lucky and is set on the path of employment as a governess. Set in the country town of Highbury, Emma lives at Hartfield with her father, neighbours to their dear friends at Randalls – Mr and Mrs Weston. Emma fancies herself the master of matchmaking and, when the mysterious Frank Churchill reconnects with his father Mr Weston, mischief and heartbreak ensues.
The plot was amusing and engaging and I genuinely found it a real page-turner. Despite the fact that Austen narrates their drama with a slight tone of sarcasm I still felt like I connected with the characters and actually cared what happened to them. I even liked Miss Bates, the annoying aunt of Jane Fairfax who had sunk from prosperity into unfortunate circumstances.
The romance aspect to it was one of the reasons that I loved it so much; I really wanted the characters to figure out who was engaged to who because as the reader I already knew. It was exciting and fun and made Emma overall light-hearted and a joy to read from beginning to end.
However, the language is of a more difficult standard so if you weren’t up for a more challenging read Emma probably isn’t the book for you. Saying this though, I would still highly recommend it to those who are.
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