This is quite possibly Jane Austen's crowning gem.

I started to read the classics, believe it or not I didn't like them in high school. As yu grow you...more

I started to read the classics, believe it or not I didn't like them in high school. As yu grow you see them with a differnt eye. Emma, by Jane Austen, was one of the most enjoyable books I have read recently. I chose to read Emma because, having read and loved Pride and Prejudice by the same author, I wanted to explore her other books as well.I was enchanted with Emma because Austen beautifully blends together a simple story of a girl and a documentation of the societal behaviors of the time. It provides insights into the life and social customs of a lady living in the late 18th and early 19th centuries.   hide

As usual, Jane Austen doesn't disappoint. Emma is an impressive, funny, charming, beautifully...more

As usual, Jane Austen doesn't disappoint. Emma is an impressive, funny, charming, beautifully written story about nineteenth-century English society. Impressive because, in spite of the limited scope of storytelling in this time, Austen manages to keep the same basic premise fresh and engaging. In my copy's introduction, it presents that in Emma Woodhouse, Austen set out to create a protagonist that only she herself could like, and I am glad to report that she failed miserably. The blundering yet well-intentioned Emma is my second-favorite Austen heroine (after Elizabeth Bennet), and Mr. Knightley--taciturn, shrewd, and kind--is without a doubt my favorite Austen leading man. My only qualm is the somewhat recycled line of the secretly engaged man with the unlikable female character in the background (also in Sense & Sensibility). Otherwise, a lively, likeable cast of characters and an enthralling story earn Emma four stars from me.    hide

A total girl book but I love it.

Emma Woodhouse is not a particularly likable character in the beginning of this novel (compounded,...more

Emma Woodhouse is not a particularly likable character in the beginning of this novel (compounded, for our age, by her views on the hierarchichal class structure of the 19th century). But the consequences of her over-confident meddling in others' lives and relations lead her to realise her shortcomings and her mistakes. This is Emma's emotion coming-of-age story, and it leaves her far more likable by the end (and happily in love)... The plot of romantic entanglements keeps the reader guessing until the last few pages, at which point everything is resolved in a very satisfying Happy End and Happily-ever-after. Some characters, such as Mr. Woodhouse or Miss Bates, unfortunately never break out of the mold of the stock character but for the most part the characters peopling Highbury are a joy to behold. I particularly enjoyed Mr. Knightley's form of snarky humor. The language is a joy - dignified, scathing or flippant in all the right places. It's just so.... delightfully 19th century. Loved it!   hide